New Mill Owners Bring Furniture and Home Decor with an International Flair--and a Historic Connection

Mill Complex Purchased by NYC-based textile trading company

Don't buy any furniture until you've seen what Concord Property Development, LLC has in store for the old Mooresville Mill no. 4. The NYC-based company purchased the entire 43-acre tract from Cherokee Development Partners for $500,000 on December 22 and are already busy making the Mill building habitable for a giant furniture and home furnishings emporium slated to open this coming May.

George Bulat, President of Concord Global Trading, the parent company of Concord Property Development (CPD), says his company intends to keep the mill much as it is today, and has no plans to tear down any buildings at this time. "We like old buildings and like to keep things the way they are," says Bulat. "This is the beauty of old factory buildings...they are unique and have lots of history about them." The company has already used a similar tack to breath new life into other old mills, such as the one in Fort Lawn, South Carolina, home of the huge WOW! furniture and home decor store.

Concord Global Trading specializes in Persian-style area rugs manufactured in Turkey. Bulat, a native of Ankara, Turkey now residing in New York City, sees the historic connction with the mill: "Didn't Mooresville Mills make the Turkish towel?" he quips, referring to the "Turkish Moor" brand of towels produced by the Mooresville Cotton Mills after World War II. Bulat has promised to sell his company's Turkish-made rugs in the emporium, reconnecting the mill with its "Turkish" legacy.

As for their plans for the entire mill complex, Bulat says things will happen slowly, and that in the meantime they are open to ideas and are looking forward to the community's support.

At the January 4th meeting, Town Council members approved funding a full survey of the MMV with the goal of completing an official nomination to the National Register. The funding is contingent upon the town receiving a matching grant from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Once the nomination package--a one-hundred-plus page document cataloguing every house and building within the district--is completed, National Register representatives and the state and federal level will make their final decision as to whether or not the MMV will be placed on the Register.

Last fall, the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office placed the Mooresville Mill Village on its "study list" of proposed National Register historic districts. That means that the SHPO believes the Mill Village has the qualities of a National Register Historic District. SHPO representatives encouraged the Town of Mooresville to complete the application process.

SHPO's actions were a result of the application submitted by the Mill Village Initiative with the support of the Mooresville Historic Preservation Commission. The application included a brief history of the mill and mill village, historical maps and photos, as well as a study of the different house designs built within the village. View the application for consideration for the National Register study list submitted by the Mill Village Initiative.

At the same meeting, Town Council approved a revised version of the MMV Neighborhood Conservation Overlay. The new version should continue protecting the neighborhood character, providing more detail about elements that are essential to that character. You can read a Microsoft Word version of the new guidelines here.

Financial Impact
What does the National Register mean for Mooresville, the Mill Village, and its property owners? Foremost it's a tremendous honor to the history of the MMV and the role the mill and its workers played in the development of the region. But the National Register listing can also help boost, like no other program can, the renovation movement that is breathing new life into the village. View this slideshow about the financial impact of being on the National Register.

History
Throughout the 20th century, Mooresville Mills (aka Mooresville Cotton Mills) grew from a small one-building enterprise into a mammoth complex that sprawled over dozens of acres and provided for the economic, social, and even spiritual well-being of its employees. Have a look at the Mill Pix slideshow to view the evolution of the MIll and Mill Village over the past century.

Check out this short documentary focusing on the history of Mooresville Mills from the Statesville Landmark.

Read more history in our About:History section