Southern Pines Freight Depot lease available; Requests For Proposals now open for historic railroad warehouse

By Staff Report, posted Sep 19, 2025 on BizFayetteville.com

Graphic provided by: The Town of Southern Pines

The Town of Southern Pines seeks proposals for the lease and use of the historic Railroad Warehouse & Freight Depot structure located at 305 NW Broad Street in downtown Southern Pines. Specifically, the Town will entertain offers to lease 2,000 +/- square feet of covered warehousing space, along with 1,992 square feet of covered loading dock and a 553-square foot ramp. The southern end of the facility is leased by CSX as an office and is not part of this lease.

The Town is open to leasing the Depot for a variety of uses; the events venue shown in the photos is the most recent example from the prior tenant. Any future use must complement the character of our historic downtown—home to residents, businesses and civic spaces—and operate in a way that does not detract from it. Proposals should explain how the use will respect the site’s historic character and address practical operations such as hours, noise, parking, solid waste, and deliveries.

Proposal Requirements: By 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, interested parties must submit a proposal which addresses:

Name & address of the proposed leasing entity (include names of all partners, board members, or specific individuals who comprise said entity and hold decision making, financial authority, and responsibility.)
Intended use(s) of the space and proposed days and hours of operation.
Proposed approach to operational logistics, such as parking, deliveries, solid waste and similar. Include letters of agreement from property owners offering shared parking arrangements, if any.
Description of proposed up-fits to the exterior or interior, as well as signage.* The Town may require the development of conceptual renderings before the lease is approved.
Requested Financial Terms, including monthly rate, specific terms, length of lease, and any renewals. No combination of terms/renewals may exceed 10 years. The value of any permanent improvements may be considered in the proposed leasing rates. The expenses for all utilities, maintenance, and insurance will be the responsibility of the lessee. Proposals should be a minimum of the downtown market rate +/- $3,000.
Requested beginning date of the lease (no earlier than Dec. 1, 2025).

*All signage and construction will be subject to normal and customary permitting and approvals prior to commencement of any work. This facility is part of the Downtown Historic District. All exterior modifications must comply with the Historic District Design Guidelines and may require

review & approval of the Town’s Historic District Commission. Design guidelines may be reviewed at sopinesnc.info/HDC_guide.

The Town Council will review the proposals and select the one which best serves the Town’s interests. In addition to the items required in the proposal, the Town Council may consider additional information to include:

Letters of support from downtown businesses, organizations or adjacent neighborhoods.
The manner in which a particular business or use integrates, supports, enhances, or is otherwise congruent with the existing downtown entities and the character of downtown Southern Pines.
Reputational or other matters – positive or negative – related to individuals involved with the proposed leasing entity.

The Town of Southern Pines does not discriminate and further encourages HUB (historically underutilized businesses) to consider submitting proposals.

Key dates:

Thurs, Oct. 2, 10 a.m.-noon: Open House for interested parties to look at the space and ask questions of Town staff; voluntary, but highly encouraged.

Thurs, Oct. 16, 2 p.m. local time: Deadline for submitting proposals. All proposals must be submitted electronically as a PDF file to Town Clerk Beth Robertson at brobertson@southernpines.net no later than 2pm local time.

Tues, Oct. 28, 3 p.m.: Council reviews proposals during their public work session. The meeting will be in the Haney Room at the Police station, 450 W. Pennsylvania Ave.

Next dates & steps are at the discretion of the Town Council. The Town reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, and to negotiate any final terms of a lease above and beyond those initially submitted through the proposal process.

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