This update concerns ten (10) vacant single-unit residences in the 200 and 300 blocks of Lockland Avenue. These homes have been under Hospital-affiliated ownership for an average of over 30 years. In recent years, they were allowed to sit vacant, were not maintained, and all now require significant rehabilitation prior to occupancy.
In May 2024, Atrium Health provided its plan to demolish all ten homes, which was postponed following neighborhood opposition. Since the Fall of 2024, representatives with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist have been in discussion regarding future plans for these ten homes with and The Ardmore Neighborhood Association and Preservation Forsyth. Atrium Health is seeking neighborhood input for its plan, which calls for demolition of some homes deemed by Atrium to be economically unfeasible to restore, with plans to rehabilitate others for a return to residential use.
In March 2025, Preservation Forsyth recruited a team including a structural engineer and an architect to inspect the homes. While this team was unable to determine cost feasibility of restoration, they published a report stating their opinion that all ten homes could be rehabilitated for residential use. Additionally, PF confirmed all ten houses are considered contributory structures in the Ardmore Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
In May 2025 ANA conducted a survey of its membership on the Lockland homes. In that survey, 68% of respondents chose the option: “I prefer a plan that restores a majority of the houses for residential occupancy and allows for selective demolition of some houses which may not be economically feasible to restore.” Additionally, 21% of respondents chose the option “I prefer a plan that does not include demolition of any of the houses.”
At its June 5, 2025 meeting, the ANA Board unanimously affirmed that our organization continues our commitment to preserving the residential nature of the Ardmore neighborhood and opposes the demolition of any of the homes.
The ANA appreciates the medical center’s renewed interest in reversing decades of neglect of its residential properties along Lockland. Restoration of houses to a productive, residential use is consistent with our organization’s principles. However, the ANA is unable to endorse elements of any plan which would remove residential houses for an alternative use. This would be antithetical to the founding principles of the ANA. Additionally, it should be noted that continuing to hold these properties vacant and in disrepair, such that they cannot be put to residential use, is also inconsistent with the board’s mission to preserve the residential nature of Ardmore.
The medical center has been an integral member of the Ardmore neighborhood for over one hundred years. A prosperous medical center benefits the local community, and in turn benefits from a prosperous surrounding community. We would ask Atrium, as a cornerstone of the Ardmore community, to recognize that reinvestment in the residential neighborhood also serves the medical center’s interests. As representatives of the ANA, we must remain consistent with the organization’s principles spelled out in Articles of Incorporation, filed November 22, 1976 with the Secretary of State of North Carolina. The ANA encourages Atrium to productively manage and maintain its residential properties for residential uses.
