Uptown Roxboro gets new look with growing businesses

Like several other businesses getting new life, Green's Jewelers on Main Street in Roxboro is undergoing a significant renovation that will restore the building to its original look from the early 1900s.

With more businesses flocking to the area, Green's Jewelers co-owner Lauren Coates felt that after years of waiting and saving, this was the right time to restore the building's sparkle.

"So, by the time the big boom did happen here with all the businesses open and everything, we wanted to have our change already set up." Coates said.

Coates discussed the growth she’s seen in the area.

"Uptown Roxboro is growing, it's here to stay,” Coates said. “It's not dying, and it's really just beginning.”

The contractor doing that work is also new to Roxboro, and this is one of his projects on Main Street.

"My own family has bought some property as well at 118 [Main Street],” developer Allen Downey said. “We've gutted that, we're putting in apartments upstairs, commercial space on the first floor and in the basement."

Downey tells WRAL News that this is the next hotspot for growth in the Triangle.

"People are moving this way, and I think we're on the forefront of this thing really blowing up," Downey said.

Vanessa Dorazio owns OD On Coffee, which opened last week. She says the people in Person County made this the right spot for her.

"I just decided it was something I wanted to do for about 15 years. The opportunity opened up where I was able to come do this here in the town that we've lived in for a lot of years," Dorazio said. "The support that they give for the new businesses here are absolutely amazing, and I knew that we would succeed here being in uptown Roxboro."

Dorazio also mentioned the area’s growth.

For Coates, the changes on Main Street and the revitalization of Uptown Roxboro are about more than the infrastructure.

"The building is really like an extension of my family,” Coates said. “This business has been in my family in Roxboro for more than 100 years.”

Coates’ business has been in her family since 1895, and in Roxboro since 1918; they were across the street and bought the current building in the 70s; the existing building was a bank.

The indoor and outdoor remodel of Green's Jewelers and the construction of new apartments are expected to be complete in the next couple of months.