Thomas F. Clark Trust building proposal. Courtesy Town of Davidson

June 13. By Dave Yochum. A proposal from the Thomas F. Clark Trust would preserve and expand upon historic buildings at 121-129 N. Main St. in Davidson. Prominent architect Chuck Travis, the former mayor of Cornelius and designer of some of the buildings in Birkdale Village, is the late Clark’s long-time architectural consultant.

Clark, who graduated from Davidson College in 1949—and later taught in the Department of Religion—was internationally famous for his gnome sculptures. He established Cairn Studios in Davidson with another alumnus, Joe Poteat.

The proposal will be discussed at tomorrow’s Town Board meeting.

Cairn Studios was making millions in revenue every year, and Poteat once bragged to Business North Carolina that there were dealers “in every county in every state in the nation.” Clark ultimately retired from teaching at Davidson to work full time on his art, and sales only expanded. Clark and Poteat’s company grew and eventually had a staff of hundreds of people working on faithfully reproducing each one of Clark’s creations for sale.

It’s unclear how much the project will cost, but it must pass multiple town reviews. The project, which is conceptual at this point, includes new commercial space and up to three residential units.

It breaks down like this:

New building, preserving existing façade

The proposed project would add 21,100 square feet of heated leasable space.

The proposed name of the project is The Thomas F. Clark Center. Clark, Travis and Greensboro attorney George House have met and consulted with Davidson officials, according to a letter from House to Davidson’s chief planner, Jason Burdette.

The plans were approved by Clark shortly before his death at 93 in January.

Burdette could not be reached for comment this morning.

The trust is asking that allowed building heights be partially increased by one story in the rear of the project while still keeping the one-story retail ambiance facing North Main.

The design includes balconies on upper floors. A fourth story would be set back a minimum of 40 feet from Main Street.

Mayor Rusty Knox said he is “very excited” about the possibilities this project could bring to Main Street.

“Whether the trust can go forward with Dr. Clark’s vision is dependent upon the town’s favorable decision on these variances and assistance,” House said in a letter to Burdette.

Thomas Clark photo: Legacy.com

So that’s why Poteat has held those buildings hostage all these years at the expense of downtown retail.

Davidson is a great little town with a big space problem. Add to that all of the horrific pedestrian fatalities-and you have to ask yourself- how with this bottleneck town find places for people to park and a way to keep safe the increase in folks walking. It is beautiful architectural rendering though. Great luck to them project. Nate

The set back second story does not create a negative impact. The top looks like scaffolding. I assume the decks would have lighting. This would not be compatible with the charming Main Street ambiance. Obviously, the intent is to attract more business. Parking and traffic are already an issue. At first glance, I thought of the Cornelius Art Center. This project does not seem sensitive to the charm that currently exists. Jane McDonald

People of Davidson, which would you prefer, shuttered store fronts or a tasteful update that preserves the historic facades? Honor the man and get this done!

Phone: 704-895-1335 - PO Box 2062 Cornelius, NC 28031-2062.

Editor: Dave Yochum, [email protected]

Production: Jason Benavides, [email protected]