Elon has purchased eight properties along North Greene Street in downtown Greensboro, north of Elon University School of Law's H. Michael Weaver Building.
The purchase, which includes seven buildings and a parking lot, completes acquisition of the square block bounded by N. Greene St., Bellemeade St., Commerce Place and Sternberger Place. The properties were purchased from LaRose Properties Inc., the same firm that sold three other properties on that same block to the university in 2011.
The purchase was completed through a financial partnership of the university and the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, which provided start-up funding for the law school in 2006 and continues to be a generous Elon supporter. The university has no immediate plans to use the properties; the four businesses that are leasing the buildings will continue to operate in their current locations. The three vacant warehouse and office buildings acquired by Elon in 2011 along Commerce Place were demolished and the property was landscaped as an attractive green space.
“Elon University takes the long-term view with regard to campus expansion opportunities,” said Leo M. Lambert, Elon university president. “We believe this is a wonderful opportunity to plan for future growth and academic program development, and are grateful for the generosity of the Bryan Foundation in supporting Elon once again.”
Over the past few years, Elon has acquired several properties in the areas surrounding the law school to support its distinctive experiential approach to legal education. These buildings have provided space for active student organizations and legal clinics that engage Elon Law students in service to the Greensboro community. Along with the new property acquisitions, Elon Law has also begun new ventures, such as creating 3+3 programs with nearby colleges and universities, allowing students to earn an undergraduate degree and law degree in six years; growing the school’s business law program; and pursuing additional programs of distinction for Elon Law in leadership and experiential learning.
Jim Melvin, president of the Bryan Foundation, said he is proud of the foundation’s partnership with Elon in establishing the law school and is excited about the expansion of the university’s Greensboro campus.
“This purchase is critically important as we continue to develop our city center,” Melvin said. “This has been an underutilized block, and it is now in the hands of a very creative owner with a world-class reputation.”
In addition to this newly acquired block of properties and the main H. Michael Weaver Building and its annex at the corner of N. Greene Street and W. Friendly Avenue, Elon University owns buildings at 210, 218 and 219 Friendly Avenue and at 208 Commerce Place. Those buildings provide space for the Immigration Law Clinic, Wills Clinic, Elder Law Clinic and student offices for the law review, moot court and mock trail organizations and the Student Bar Association.
In addition, the university leases the former Bank of America location at 101 W. Friendly Avenue as a location for its Center for Professional Development, a classroom and a student commons.