The Packinghouse Project Part I
Locals have all heard the legend of the old Packinghouse. Many have seen the large, hulk of a building, the remnant of an industrial past. Yet this building that has been largely empty for 100 years may soon get a second chance. Georgia Southern alumnus Scott Taylor is a property developer who moved back to Statesboro from the New York area. He purchased the building several years ago and has big ideas to breath new life into what has long stood dead and lifeless.
Taylor saw the property late in 2015 when it came up for sale. “At first I was not one hundred percent sure,” he said, “but I loved the unique industrial style of the building.” Taylor has been cleaning out the packinghouse and plans to convert it into unique apartments. Taylor was inspired by the revitalized industrial style of New York City’s former meatpacking district.
He admits that the biggest challenge for the project is the “sheer size of the building.” He has extensive experience in investment property renovation and development, but this was his largest project yet. The inside of the building needed to be cleared of all debris and cleaned out. He certainly faced a challenge freeing the building that was “entombed in kudzu.” Taylor said “It was like cleaning up after a hundred-year-old party” with cans, trash, and bottles strewn across the interior and graffiti scrawled over the walls.
After the clean-up phase, Taylor did the initial layout plan himself. “It was a challenge to create functional spaces and designs that make sense within the existing footprint,” he says. “But it was kind of fun to see a design that would work to repurpose the building into something cool and aesthetically pleasing.” Taylor has big hopes for the future of this iconic Statesboro landmark. Optimistically, he says that renovation and construction plans could start as early as this summer and be finished within ten months. He says “ I think people will be impressed and pleased with the result.”
Story to be continued in Part II…
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