The Town of Smithfield is the county seat of one of the fastest growing counties in the State, Johnston County.  Located on the eastern edge of the Triangle, twenty-nine miles from Raleigh, Smithfield has a successful downtown, a large retail outlet mall, the Ava Gardner museum, and several historic sites, making it a destination for travelers along the I-95 corridor.

Benchmark is a key team member on the multi-disciplinary team assembled by the North Carolina Downtown Development Association to study the feasibility of redeveloping the Gabriel Johnston Hotel building (c. 1935), which played host to Smithfield’s favorite daughter, Ava Gardner, on her visits home.  Team members met for a two-day charrette with the Town and key stakeholders to begin drafting the study and overall redevelopment concepts.

The Team has developed an assessment of the property, building schematics, a market study, and an overall report containing the feasibility of developing the property for a variety of uses.  The Team has studied options for the use of the property as an inn with a standalone restaurant, meeting space and office space.  The team also prepared an assessment for the property as a mixed use apartment / office building.

Benchmark is co-leading the overall project, and contributing to the development analysis, funding strategies, and façade renderings.  The project is expected to be completed in January 2011.

Group Studying Former Hotel