(ROCKWALL, TX — November 28, 2018) A 125-year-old building located in downtown Rockwall will soon house some spacious new mercantile office suites. Kevin Lefere, owner of Zanata, and Ridge Pointe Commercial Real Estate’s David English, Jeff Grinnan and Bart Gardener have partnered to bring Mercantile Office Suites to the old Heath-Jones Mercantile Landmark District building on the downtown square.
The two-story, 4,500-square-foot building was constructed back in 1893 as the First National Bank. It’s located within the Heath-Jones Mercantile Landmark District — a nod to the first store ever established in Rockwall, the Heath-Jones Mercantile.
The new Mercantile Office Suites, located at 102 S. Goliad St., will house 12 executive office suites and feature a large first floor conference room, industrial modern furniture and finish-out, and high speed fiber internet. The building is also within walking distance of nine local restaurants, including Lefere’s Zanata.
“With the interior design of the building, we want to have a lot of windows and natural light so that it doesn’t feel dark and closed in,” English said. “The offices will be nice and bright and make a great workspace. So the idea is that if you’re in the office and are seated at your desk, you have privacy. But if you stand up on a phone call or have a standing desk, then you can see all the way out onto the street on the downtown square.”
In its early years, the building operated as a place to house dry goods. Then it became the Rockwall Flower Shop, with the East Trinity Masonic Lodge #157 meeting on the upper floor. The East Trinity Masonic Lodge continued to use the upper story of the building for meetings for several years. Then in 1955, they purchased the adjacent one-story building where the Lodge meets to this day.
In their construction and renovation of the building, English said they will look to preserve as much of the original aesthetic of the structure as possible.
“We’re trying to keep as much as we can, such as all the original window molding, the limestone mortar, and the floors,” English said. “We’re trying to be very careful to where if we have a missing brick or something that we’re not replacing it with something that doesn’t fit.”
English said they have had an overwhelmingly positive response from interested tenants due to the amazing location, historical significance and overall ambiance of the Historic Landmark building.
“People walk into this building and they get emotional with the textures, the age, the condition of it,” English said. “It just gets that very unique emotional response from people.”
“The atmosphere that the building brings was a big draw for all of us,” Lefere said.
English said they’re offering a one-year minimum lease for the office suites. As of this writing, the mercantile had already leased half of its units to individuals in commercial trades such as a CPA, a title company and a commercial appraiser.
English and company aim to have the mercantile up and running by Jan. 1, 2019.
For more information about the new Mercantile Office Suites or to inquire about a lease visit ridgepcre.com.
Story and photo by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News.
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