SALISBURY — The city of Salisbury has officially issued a solicitation for development partner proposals for the Kesler Mill redevelopment project, potentially putting the wheels to the pavement on a project that is more than a decade in the making.

According to a release from Sonyia Turner, the UNC School of Government representative working with Salisbury, the city desires an affordable mixed income community with up to 147 units, including: one senior rental project with approximately 60 units, one family rental project with approximately 80 units and up to seven affordable homeownership units.

The release states that potential participation from the city or other government entities include:

• Sale or ground lease of the mill site at a nominal rate
• Investment to support the construction of low-to-moderate income units
• Investment into the enhancement of roads installed by the developer to support the city’s streetscape and greenway vision

The site details as they are listed in the solicitation are:

• 13-acre site located at 423 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., Salisbury
• City-owned property
• Eligible for partial brownfields property tax exclusion
• Likely competitive for 9 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
• Located in a Qualified Census Tract (QCT)

Proposals are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 11. Anyone with questions about the opportunity or who would like to arrange a site visit, contact Sonyia Turner, turner@sog.unc.edu.

The solicitation has been made available at the UNC website at https://dfi.sog.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/18943/2025/02/Final-City-of-Salisbury-Kesler-Mill-Redevelopment-SDP_2025_Compressed.pdf.

“This has taken a while and I appreciate the feedback and support from council. As Hannah said, we’re excited about getting this RFP out on the street and seeing what type of proposals we receive. We’re early in this project, so still a lot of work to do,” said City Manager Jim Greene Jr. at the Feb. 8 Salisbury City Council meeting, where the solicitation was originally discussed.

The construction would likely be completed in phases, with Community Planning Director Hannah Jacobson saying on Feb. 8 that the senior housing would be considered the first priority of the project, so phase one would be approximately 60 senior housing units on North Arlington Street. Phase two would consist of single-family homes that would be built on Park Avenue and East Franklin Street. The third and final phase would consist of duplexes and townhomes.  

At the time, Jacobson also said that after responses to the solicitation are received, the city and a chosen developer should have a development agreement executed by the third quarter of 2026.

The Kesler Mill site has been vacant since owner Pillowtex shut down their textile mills in 2003, with approximately 4,000 people in the area losing their jobs. The mill had been in operation since 1895. The city acquired the site in 2019 and the old Kesler Mill property has been subjected to a large-scale brownfield clean-up project, which aimed to remove debris and pollution that had been present on the property since the buildings were demolished in 2009.

The city council approved the design plans for the project in May of 2024. The project will include 60 senior rental units, 83 family rentals that are a mix of duplexes and townhouses, and five single-family detached homes.

At the time, the estimated public and private investment cost totaled $43 million.

The rental amounts will range from $550-$1,150; sale values will go from $230,000-$250,000; and mortgage payments will cost $940-$1,325. Units will only be available for those earning 80 percent of the area median income.