Wisconsin company has option to buy iconic Danville mill building

The Danville Industrial Development Authority has approved an agreement giving a Wisconsin company the option to buy the iconic White Mill property, a symbol of the city’s history as a major textile center.

The agreement provides The Alexander Co., based in Madison, Wis., with a nine-month option in which to move forward with a purchase. The IDA could grant extensions up to two 180-day periods.

The purchase price for the mill, once part of the Dan River Inc. complex in Danville, would be $3 million.

That is the same price the IDA paid when it bought the property in 2017 from White Mill Development LLC, a subsidiary of Spartanburg, S,C.-based Gibbs International.

Alexander Co. specializes in historic preservation, urban revitalization, and adaptive reuse. The company said it will announce any plans for the White Mill property at a later date.

In another development, plans have been announced to redevelop two Danville properties into a boutique hotel.

The former Knights of Pythias (117-119 South Union Street) and Register & Bee buildings (123 South Union Street) will be converted into approximately 42 suites in the River District.

Roanoke developer Ed Walker acquired the two properties last year with plans to begin development in the first quarter of 2019