CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A landmark building that has been around since the 1900s is on the move. The Leeper Wyatt building was the oldest surviving retail brick commercial building in Dilworth’s original South Boulevard
To save the building from being demolished because of development, it’s been relocated.
Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown are the owners of the restaurant group providing the building a new foundation.
“I can’t believe it’s here and we have finally arrived on site, this is an exciting moment,” Brown said.
It’s moving day but not the usual move you see in Dilworth.
“This has been a two-year project,” Tonidandel said.
This one takes a little bit more heavy lifting, relocating the structure from South Boulevard, 750 feet away to Cleveland Avenue. The power lines had to also be lowered for the building to make it across the street.
The move is about more than just relocating a structure it’s about preserving history. The Leeper Wyatt building is 121 years old.
“For Charlotte, that is rich history. We don’t have many things that are that old. It’s all so important to hold on to those buildings along the way and help them move forward,” said Brown. “This building just happens to be one and we are giving it a new life at a new location.”
The owners are hoping to keep some of the structure's charm along the way.
“It has super high ceilings, exposed beams upstairs, and there was actually at one time a fire, and you can see the reminiscent of the fire where it had basically charred some of the beams,” said Brown. “As they say... it actually makes them stronger as long as it doesn’t fully burn them.”
The move drew crowds as dozens of people came out to see the Leeper Wyatt building take home at a new address.
“We have seen a lot of changes in Dilworth, a lot of it starts with tearing things down…rather than replacing. Here’s an opportunity to see not only see it preserved but I’ve need seen a building moved up close and personal," a local resident said.
The move does not come without some controversy.
“This is going to be in our parking lot,” Tonidandel said. “But it was the last place for it to go and the only way to save it was by losing some of our parking spots.”
That parking lot is the same property where the group plans to open a restaurant, Leluia Hall. There were concerns about the loss of parking spaces in the already congested neighborhood but to meet UDO requirements the owners are making up those spaces by leasing them from an offsite parking lot.
From a grocery store, to retail, to a future restaurant the Leeper Wyatt building’s history lives on.
“It just tells a great story, keeps the culture, and a nice reminder of our past,” Tonidandel said.