Two nonprofit housing organizations have received approval from the city of Salisbury to convert a long-idle textile mill into new affordable apartments. The planned $46 million project will transform the former Kesler Mill site into 153 residential units, advancing a major adaptive reuse effort at 423 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
The development will repurpose approximately 13 acres formerly occupied by Kesler Mill, a textile operation that began production in 1895 and continued until 2003, according to reporting by the Charlotte Business Journal. The mill closed after the shutdown of Pillowtex, its former owner, which the city estimates contributed to the loss of about 4,000 jobs across Rowan and Cabarrus Counties combined.
City officials are now working with Self-Help Ventures Fund and DreamKey Partners to move the project forward. Self-Help Ventures Fund is a nonprofit entity that manages Self-Help’s real estate development initiatives, while DreamKey Partners is a nonprofit real estate development and finance corporation based in Charlotte. Together, the groups are positioned to lead the conversion of the industrial site into income-restricted housing.
The redevelopment will focus on delivering affordable apartments rather than market-rate units, with the entire 153-unit program located on the Kesler Mill property at 423 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. The shift in use from a historic manufacturing employer to residential housing reflects a broader reuse strategy for legacy industrial assets that no longer support their original operations.
To support the capital stack, the project is expected to rely on Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Use of these credits is intended to help keep rents at affordable levels while enabling the nonprofits to finance the significant construction and rehabilitation costs associated with converting an aging mill complex into code-compliant, modern housing.
The city’s estimates of past job losses underscore the economic impact of the original mill closure on the surrounding region. The current initiative, led by mission-driven developers, represents a new chapter for the 13-acre Kesler Mill site, with the focus now shifting toward long-term housing stability and affordability for future residents rather than industrial employment.
