Garner's buildings, old and new
Garner is a town of about 31,000 people just south of Raleigh. Its commercial roofs fall into three groups, and each group has its own problems.
Downtown Main Street
The Downtown Garner Historic District holds a row of one and two-story brick stores facing the railroad, built roughly from 1883 to 1940. The Henry Bryan Store at 107 West Main Street, from about 1900, is said to be the town's first brick store.
The US 70 corridor
US 70 became the first paved highway in North Carolina in 1917, and it is still where most of Garner's shops and businesses sit. White Oak Crossing, near I-40 and US 70, broke ground for a 2003 opening and now covers about 710,000 square feet of big-box retail.
Warehouses and plants
Prologis Greenfield North has warehouses from about 62,000 to 152,000 square feet near the I-40 and US 70 interchange. The Greenfield 27 park added about 260,000 square feet in 2023. Amazon opened a large fulfillment center off Jones Sausage Road in 2020, and Pepsi Bottling Ventures runs a 350,000 square foot plant in town.