One of the most significant developments in Winston-Salem history has been the transformation of former tobacco factories and warehouses into a thriving research park, now called Innovation Quarter. While most of this adaptive reuse has taken place in the last 10 years, the Wells Fargo Linden Center was one of the first—in 1998.
Blum Construction was hired to convert a factory building to a new office facility for Wachovia Bank (later acquired by Wells Fargo). Along with a demanding schedule and a $50,000-a-week penalty if the project was not completed on time, the upfit involved the lifting of the 3-million pound second story in order to add another floor below. The 37,000-square-foot project was completed successfully and on schedule.