Canton eyes future with Park Street overhaul
An architectural rendering of the old building at 225 Park St. in Canton shows what its next chapter may hold.
Town of Canton photo
Canton is preparing to turn one of its most flood-prone, long-neglected buildings into something it has rarely been in decades — useful.
Once the project is complete, the aging structure at 225 Park St. will become a flexible, flood-adapted gathering space designed not just to survive the next storm but to anchor a broader transformation already reshaping the surrounding blocks.
The project targets a site that has long defied easy answers. Hemmed in by FEMA buyouts and repeated flooding, the building sits in a highly visible location adjacent Sorrells Street Park but has remained largely inactive, more a reminder of past damage than a participant in the town’s daily life.
Town leaders now see that constraint differently — not as a reason to avoid investment, but as a challenge around which to design. Instead of trying to outbuild the river, the plan accepts its presence and works with it.
Funding for the project originated with a North Carolina Department of Commerce Rural Transformation Grant awarded in 2022 following Tropical Storm Fred. After Hurricane Helene, the agreement was amended, increasing the guaranteed maximum price to $672,203 and allowing additional work to be incorporated into the project. Early concepts pushed well beyond that limit. Initial estimates approached $868,000, forcing the design team to reevaluate priorities and scale back features that could be deferred to later phases.
Through months of revision, the project has been brought closer to budget. As of late March, estimates hovered just above the cap, with officials expressing confidence that final bidding could close the remaining gap.
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“If you pull out the contingency line item of that [budget], we are about $14,000 under budget,” said Travis Klondike, an assistant research professor at Coastal Dynamics Design Lab at NC State who presented project updates at a March 26 meeting.
The building itself is being reimagined as an adaptable space — one that can host events, support park activity and recover quickly after flooding. Its current form, largely closed off, will give way to something more permeable and connected to its surroundings.
Designers focused heavily on how the structure interacts with Sorrells Street Park and nearby redevelopment sites, including the future conversion of the existing William G. Stamey Municipal Building property into green space.
“You’ve got the park right next door, you’ve got this site right across the street where the [old] town hall and the [old] police station will eventually be demolished and changed into green space,” said Ethan Ward, an architect with McMillan Pazdan Smith.
That broader context shaped decisions about how the building should look, feel and function. Rather than serving as a boundary, the structure is intended to act as a gateway — visually opening toward the park and physically accommodating movement between spaces. Plans include removing the existing storefront façade and replacing it with large openings, including garage-style doors that can be raised during events to create an indoor-outdoor environment.
“We’re suggesting removing that front storefront glass to create a covered seating space that can be used for Labor Day Festival, farmers markets, any sort of events,” Ward said.
I nside, the layout centers on a flexible event space supported by storage areas and open circulation zones. Outside, improvements to the surrounding area are intended to better organize parking and expand usable park space.
Flooding remains the defining constraint — and the design’s central organizing principle. Instead of attempting to keep water out, the building is being designed to allow water to pass through with minimal damage.
Elevated utilities, durable materials and breakaway features are intended to ensure that when flooding occurs, recovery is measured in days rather than months.
“These kind of new openings [are] creating a resilience to this building where it can be opened up and flood waters can just run through it,” Ward said.
Construction is expected to take approximately five months once contracts are finalized. Officials anticipate moving to bid in April or May with completion targeted for early fall. Alderwoman Kristian Proctor remarked on the slow progress of most other town recovery projects — not only from Hurricane Helene in 2024, but also from Tropical Storm Fred in 2021.
“I feel like I’m being teased right now, because it’s like, we could have a building by Halloween?” Proctor asked.
Staging plans call for most construction activity to occur on the parking lot side of the building, minimizing disruption to the adjacent splash pad and seasonal events.
“We do want to be sensitive to how that might impact Labor Day Festival,” Klondike said.
Beyond the technical details, town leaders repeatedly framed the project as part of a broader effort to reshape Canton’s identity.
The building has long been seen as an eyesore — a highly visible structure that reflected years of inactivity and missed opportunity. Its transformation, they argue, carries symbolic weight that extends beyond its footprint.
“I think this is a game changer,” said Zeb Smathers, Canton’s mayor.
That sense of momentum ties into larger redevelopment efforts already underway nearby, including changes to municipal properties and the uncertain future of the former mill site.
Officials say the goal is not simply to improve aesthetics or add another venue but to create conditions that make Canton more attractive to the type of residents that sustain rural communities.
“We want young families because young families are in your schools, they’re in your churches, they’re on your ball fields,” Smathers said. “Many of us are products of families being here. If we can create a future around attracting young families, we’re not just going to be good, we’re going to be great.”
For longtime residents, the building’s history adds another layer to its transformation. Decades of disuse have made it a familiar but largely unproductive presence in the town’s landscape.
Smathers acknowledged that history directly.
“You drive by that building, and I think it shows and reminds you of a Canton that was empty, busted, questioned, dusty,” Smathers said. “This project shows where we’re going. No more will there be an empty building, run down.”
The contrast between that past and the town’s ambitions for the future now defines the project. Whether the building ultimately fulfills that promise will depend on how it is used once complete — whether it becomes a true gathering space or simply another improvement in a long list of incremental changes. For now, town leaders are betting that this one matters.
“Those days of the past are behind us,” Smathers said. “This is a statement to our future.”
