SILER CITY — The Wren family has been a fixture in Siler City for more than 100 years.
Now, one of the great-grandsons of scion L.L. Wren is looking to make his mark on downtown.
Wren Farrar stared with the development of Chatham Lofts apartments, a $500,000 refurbishing project of the former Siler City Auto Parts store on North Chatham Avenue. Now he has his sights set on four other family-owned properties downtown — hoping to eventually create a downtown space that combines livability with the kind of amenities that attract visitors and retail growth.
Wren traces his local lineage to L.L. Wren, who opened Siler City Mills, a feed mill that produced all kinds of animal feed from chicken to livestock to pet food, in 1910. The mill originally produced two types of flour for area residents, but later expanded its operation to include making feed to supply many farmers east of the Mississippi River. L.L. Wren was also a founding member of The Chatham Bank, which operated in Siler City from 1901 until it merged with First Union National Bank of North Carolina in 1961.
In the 1940s and 50s, during the heyday of the mill, L.L.’s son William Wren began investing in downtown, purchasing about 10 properties. In 1963, William Wren established Wren Foundation Inc., which his daughter Margaret de St. Aubin operates today. Wren Farrar, Margaret de St. Aubin’s son, is the latest descendant to build on that legacy through the Wren Family Estate LLC. As the property manager, Wren is rehabilitating the properties originally purchased by his grandfather in an effort to give back to Siler City and help revitalize downtown.
Farrar received his B.A. in Historic Preservation and Community Planning from the College of Charleston and worked for a time with a brick mason. In 2011, he returned to Siler City and began crafting a comprehensive redevelopment plan focused on rehabilitating existing properties and promoting the revitalization of downtown’s commercial district.
“I just always wanted to come back to Siler City,” Farrar said. “I love the people. I love the town. I grew up hearing stories of Siler City. It had a bustling economy and was a hub of the county. Mix that with a love of historic buildings and construction. I always saw potential and when I had the opportunity to re-develop these buildings, I jumped.”
Farrar’s first major project was the Chatham Lofts on North Chatham Avenue in 2016. At that time, he noted that the project was “just the first step of a master plan.” He wants to create downtown spaces that attract residents, businesses, and visitors. Farrar is hoping to maximize the potential for people to live downtown, capitalize on walkability and get more activity downtown. He believes that in order to attract a “middle management population,” Siler City needs to develop both the housing stock and amenities that would be a draw.
He believes one of the biggest hurdles is the Siler City ordinance under the state’s ABC laws that mandate that alcohol sales must be done either in a hotel or motel or in an establishment that serves food. Farrar noted that other municipalities — Pittsboro, Sanford and Liberty — have passed referendums allowing for fewer restrictions on alcohol sales, which he believes improve economic opportunity for downtowns.
“We need somewhere people can meet after work hours to have a drink and talk about the news of the town,” Farrar said. “We can’t have tap rooms, bottle shops, or bars. We’re the only municipality in four counties that hasn’t passed it. It’s a revenue-killer. It turns people off from investing or moving businesses here. They want food and beverage instead of a downtown that closes at 5 p.m. They want evening and night life. It’s good for artists and good for our businesses.”
Farrar said he was working with others in hopes of changing the ordinance. In the meantime, he has four other downtown development projects that he hopes will bring economic opportunity and vitality to Siler City’s downtown.
“It’s important to my mom and it’s important to me,” he said. “Living in Siler City, contributing to Siler City, doing everything we can. It’s always been great to us so I just figured its important to return the favor. We can’t let downtown die.”
Current Wren Family Estate Redevelopment Projects
• 229-233 N. Chatham Avenue - Chatham Lofts
This was the first property Farrar rehabbed. The property had been home to numerous businesses throughout the years, including Siler City Auto Parts and most recently served as an exhibition gallery for the North Carolina Arts Incubator.
The location re-developed for mixed use – both commercial and residential. The original commercial spaces on the first floor have been condensed to build a hallway to two one-bedroom residences in the rear of the first floor. The downstairs mixed use spaces are intended to function as live-work spaces where a single tenant rents both the commercial storefront and the rear apartment however they can also be subdivided into four separate units.
The second floor is partitioned into four additional one-bedroom apartments with a central corridor running from the Chatham Avenue front entrance to the rear stairwell exiting out into the Third Street parking lot. The properties rent for about $900 per month.
Approximate project cost: $500,000
• 121 North Chatham Avenue (John F. Lambe Building)
This building was constructed circa 1904 and previously housed the Gem Theatre and Jones Department Store. The property has been approved for its conditional use permit and internal demolition has begun. When complete, there will be two commercial storefronts and two one-bedroom apartments of about 1,000 square-feet each. Farrar envisions this property to be live-work space for single tenants similar to Chatham Lofts. Farrar’s goal with the space is to draw potential entrepreneurs to downtown by the opportunity to work close to home.
• 114-116 West Raleigh Street (L.L. Wren Building)
This building, which once housed the U.S. Post Office and later the office and printing plant of The Chatham News, was built in 1927. Farrar is re-developing the building, which is now office space, into two commercial storefronts and 6 one-bedroom apartments. Internal demolition has begun at the building and final designs are 80 percent complete.
• 208 West Second Street (Roland Thomas Building)
Formerly the Roland Thomas Factory and later Dinette World, this 56,000 square-foot complex was built in 1920. This project, Farrar notes, is the farthest out in the planning stage of his re-development projects and is on scale the largest he is undertaking. He envisions the space to be mixed-use and will include a tap room or a Bavarian-styled beer garden, an event venue, a restaurant, a fitness gym, and four studio loft apartments on the second floor. Farrar notes the biggest barrier for the development is the current town ordinances that prevent alcohol sales on premises that do not include food service.
• East Fourth Street - Chatham Corner
On East Fourth Street behind the First Baptist Church, Farrar is planning a development of 12 one- and two-story southern style two- and three-bedroom family cottages. He wants to create a family-friendly neighborhood, similar to a pocket neighborhood two blocks from historic downtown. This project is still in the planning stages.
Casey Mann can be reached at CaseyMann@Chathamnr.com.
