F&M plans to renovate the Mayfield building to provide a bank administrative center. Bank officials previously announced plans to spend nearly $4 million on the project.

Late Friday evening, the final legal papers were signed between Rowan County and F&M Bank, completing a deal that had been in the works for more than a year. F&M gave the county a check for $922,500.

The completion of the transaction went more smoothly than early negotiations. County commissioners initially agreed to sell the property to F&M and then backed out, asking for a higher price. F&M eventually agreed.

County Manager Tim Russell hailed the property transfer as a “first step in a long process.”

“By selling the 200 block,” he said, “it benefits F&M, it enhances Salisbury and the county. Plus it gives us the opportunity to proceed with the 300 block.

“We can control our own destiny and prepare for future growth.”

The county bought the 200 block in 1995 for about $550,000. At that time, commissioners planned to use it for expansion of Justice Center offices and parking.

In recent months, the county acquired options on most of the property within the 300 block, the block adjacent to the Justice Center.

Architects will present a long range plan for development of the 300 block during the commissioners’ Feb. 7 meeting. It is expected to include a multi-story office building and parking, including a deck and ramp that would connect it to the Justice Center.

Russell said the plan for developing the block looks 10 to 20 years into the future.

The county will use the F&M check to help pay for two properties in the 300 block that are now under option. The county has agreed to pay $550,000 for the Clarence Mayfield building and $900,000 for the Crawford building. The county has not yet reached agreement with one property on the block, Gillespie’s Blacksmith Shop.

There are different Mayfield buildings — one that the county will buy in the 300 block and one belonging to F&M in the 200 block.

Steve Fisher, F&M Bank’s general counsel, said Friday that the bank will start renovating its Mayfield building and developing the entire piece of property as soon as it can. “The Mayfield building holds special significance because we truly need the additional space,” Fisher said. He hopes construction crews can begin tearing out walls in the building in about 30 days, but nothing is definite yet.

Most of the work on half of the 200 block will begin about the same time, Fisher said. That includes knocking down the connector building between Norman’s and the Mayfield building. That connector building now covers Easy Street, which officials plan to reopen.

Fisher said bank officials also plan to remove the old warehouse attached to the back of the Mayfield building. “Eventually, a Charleston Garden will rise where the warehouse was,” he said.

Ultimately, a connector will run from Council Street all the way to Liberty. Fisher said the bank is working with architect Karen Alexander, whose renovated KKAArchitecture Building stands on Council Street, to put together specifics.

“We want to create a sense of place for downtown Salisbury,”Fisher said. They plan to put out public art on Easy Street “to pull people down through there and use the old McCanless garage as a plaza for festivals and combine with assets at the depot.”

Fisher said he hopes to complete construction in about 14 months, but the bank is still negotiating the contract. “I would love to see us in the Mayfield building by early fall of 2001, but that is aggressive.” He should know how the project will work out in the next 90 days.

Work on the Norman’s building will begin later. “We’re speaking with developers,” Fisher said. “That one may lag. We’ll want to do things to the outside of the building to make it compatible with other development, and we haven’t settled yet on what our true desire is for that building.”

After the Mayfield building is finished, F&M will move its administrative offices there. President Paul Fisher will have offices there and also in Granite Quarry, Steve Fisher said. “He’ll always report in Granite Quarry.”

Fisher thanked the city of Salisbury for its support and said the project wouldn’t have been possible without it. He also thanked county commissioners for “working through a difficult process to come up with a solution that benefits the people of Salisbury, the county and the bank.”

Fisher said Randy Hemann with Downtown Salisbury Inc. also played an integral role in bringing this project to fruition.