The following is an excerpt from The Charlotte Observer’s story As Charlotte booms, this small nearby city hit a national growth milestone

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Albemarle in 2015 looked very different than it does today.

On a recent afternoon, The Charlotte Observer went on a tour of Albemarle with Kevin Robinson, Albemarle’s Planning and Development Director, City Economic Development Director Lindsey Almond and Communications Director David Fath to see some of the changes the city is experiencing. One of the major differences is the revitalization of downtown Albemarle.

“The biggest change is getting people living back downtown so that there’s actually people walking around and doing stuff at night, in the afternoons and on the weekends,” Robinson said. “And besides living (here), giving people a reason to come downtown.

“We have events put on by the city or by local businesses on at least a monthly basis, if not a weekly basis during the summer. So there’s always stuff going on.” The revitalization began with the redevelopment of the Lillian Knitting Mill Co. building in 2008. Like most of the Piedmont region of North Carolina, Albemarle’s major economic driver was its textile mills up until the early 2000s.

Instead of tearing down the historic mill, it was turned into a $6-million mixed-use development with apartments and office space. Another major addition was the construction of Pfeiffer University’s Health Sciences Center. It’s a $16-million project that brought a satellite campus to the downtown center.

“It’s been transformative,” Almond said. “It’s brought over 200 students into our downtown. A lot of them live downtown or in the immediate vicinity.”

Robinson continued, “That’s a whole demographic we were missing. A young professional demographic. They’re going into these businesses. They’re in the running club. They’re a part of downtown.” Pfeiffer also helped fuel the redevelopment of the over 100-year-old Albemarle Hotel into housing and a restaurant, an $8-million project.

In 2019, the city estimated that both developments would have a $136.5 million economic impact over the next 10 years, Spectrum News previously reported.

Transforming older buildings into new spaces has been at the forefront of Albemarle’s redevelopment. It’s why walking along Main Street one feels a captivating sense of charm and change churning in the air.

“I think the Main Street philosophy of economic development through historic preservation is really important to our community,” Almond said. “A lot of these older buildings have just been repurposed and it just adds to the character and the charm of the downtown.” Besides the renovation of the hotel, the city’s first brewery, Uwharrie Brewing, is inside a former fire house. The brewery opened in 2023 and was birthed through a partnership with the city, Almond said.

“To date, they’ve invested over a million dollars into the property and created at least 15 full-time jobs,” Almond said. “Had we not offered the building at a reduced price, they wouldn’t have invested in that space and perhaps even in our area. It’s been a great attraction to our downtown.”

The city’s next big attraction is something new — the Albemarle Business Center.

It’s a 282-acre vacant patch of land but the hope is that several companies decide to call it home. It can accommodate facilities between 25,000 square feet up to 1 million. The industrial park is a few minutes from downtown and is close to a future housing development that’ll bring over 770 units including apartments, townhomes and senior living. The goal is to bring manufacturing companies to the site that will stay long-term and create high-paying jobs.

“Our focus is really going to be on advanced manufacturing, professional and technology,” Robinson said. “That’s who we’re trying to attract to the area. We really want to get high-paying jobs and careers for people.”

While growth is already standing on Albemarle’s door step, Robinson expects it to remain at a manageable flow. To be exact, he expects an additional 400 to 500 new residents by next year, which has been the consistent rate for the city.

And as the people come, so will the housing, the jobs and the amenities.

“With respect to growth, it shouldn’t be looked at as a negative thing,” Robinson said. “It’s a sign that people want to be here. And there are good things that come with it… We’re expecting to see more jobs. New restaurants. New shops and just more investment in our community.”