The planned home of the Cobblestone Farmers Market missed a Sept. 25 opening deadline. A council committee voted 8-0 to keep $2 million in city money on the table until the end of 2027.

Winston-Salem is giving the developer of two old industrial buildings on South Marshall Street more time to finish the planned permanent home of the Cobblestone Farmers Market.

The City Council’s Committee of the Whole voted 8-0 on Monday to recommend a revised agreement. It keeps up to $2 million in city bond money committed to the project and moves the first deadline to Dec. 31, 2027. The committee’s recommendation and the named roll call are on the city’s legislative site. The full City Council takes the final vote.

Why the deadline moved

The city first approved $2 million from its 2014 economic development bonds for the site in 2018. In June 2023, the council split that money into $1 million for each of two phases.

Under that deal, the first building, 1007 S. Marshall St., had to be operating by Sept. 25, 2026. If it was not, the city’s money for both phases would lapse. The developer, 1007 S. Marshall TGS LLC, told city staff the deadline had not been met and asked for a new timeline, according to the city staff report.

The resolution before the council sets these terms:

  • the city’s $1 million for each phase stays in place, and the total cannot exceed $2 million
  • city money is the last in and the last spent on each phase, and only for construction
  • the developer holds the city’s money in escrow and cannot draw it until the rest of the funding for that phase is in place
  • both phases lose the money if 1007 is not operating by Dec. 31, 2027
  • the second building, 1001 S. Marshall St., must be operating within 24 months of 1007 opening, or its $1 million lapses

The Finance Committee first heard the request in October and asked for it to come back for a vote, the staff report said. The city’s bond money has been set aside for the project since 2018.

What is planned for the buildings

The developer’s presentation to the committee describes a $47 million redevelopment of 126,900 square feet of empty industrial space between downtown, Old Salem and the Southside neighborhood.

The first phase, at 1007 S. Marshall St., is listed at $12.4 million. Planned uses include:

  • a permanent home for the Cobblestone Farmers Market
  • a food hub with rentable cold storage for farmers and small food businesses
  • a larger Beta Verde commercial kitchen
  • a Fifth Season Gardening urban garden center
  • an event space, called the Spine, for a weekday indoor market and pop-up shops

The developer’s timeline shows the Fifth Season space finished in the first quarter of 2027 and the full building shell in the second quarter. Three more tenant spaces would follow in the third quarter. A contractor’s schedule filed with the item starts construction in January 2027 and runs into August.

The second phase, at 1001 S. Marshall St., is listed at $34.6 million. It would hold studios, small-scale manufacturing, food retail and office space for new businesses. The Interval arts gallery opened there in 2025 and has shown six exhibitions, the presentation said. A boutique hotel on the open lot next door is “under active exploration.”

How the first phase is paid for

The developer listed these sources for the $12.4 million first phase:

Source Amount Status listed
City of Winston-Salem bond money $1 million Seeking extension
New Markets Tax Credits $3.1 million In progress
Federal historic tax credits $1.5 million Letter of intent in hand
State historic tax credits $1.7 million Letter of intent in hand
Loan $2.3 million In closing
Owner equity $2.7 million $1.6 million invested so far

The second phase relies on $14.1 million in federal and state historic tax credits, which the presentation lists as approved. It still needs New Markets Tax Credits and an $11 million loan. The developer is aiming to close that financing within 24 months of the first phase finishing.

The developer estimates 87 to 89 jobs at 1007 and about 75 to 105 at 1001.

What it means for you

  • The Cobblestone Farmers Market already sets up at 1007 Marshall St. SW. This project would give it a permanent building there. Its current hours are on our farmers markets page.
  • No city money is paid out yet. The bond money has been set aside since 2018, and none of it can be drawn until the rest of a phase’s funding is in place.
  • If 1007 is not open by the end of 2027, the city’s $2 million commitment ends.
  • The final vote is the full City Council’s. Agendas are posted on the city’s legislative site.