NORF will convert the steel and concrete building into 31 market-rate apartments, which will be called The Wilcox and is estimated to be completed January 2024.

Moving forward to provide the city of Tyler with an addition to its iconic downtown area, NORF Companies, a New Orleans-based tax-advantaged real estate company, broke ground at The Wilcox on Thursday.

“This is a huge milestone for us,” said NORF’s Managing Director Cullan Maumus. “We are very excited about being able to get this moving for the city.”

In mid-March, it was announced NORF closed on financing and secured the necessary permits to proceed with work on 230 S. Broadway Avenue in Tyler.

“It was important to signal to the community that we are serious about moving forward,” Maumus said. “Downtown Tyler has so much to offer, so much history and culture and the community deserves to see that we are serious about this investment.”

NORF will convert the steel and concrete building into 31 market-rate apartments and will be called The Wilcox, after its original architect, E. Davis Wilcox.

“We are very excited about this,” Tyler Mayor Don Warren said. “We appreciate how much effort Cullan and the NORF team have put into this.”

First put into service in 1956 as the Cooperative Savings and Loan Association Building, standing six stories tall with 28,525 square feet, it was designed by Wilcox.

“This is such an exciting investment for us and we really appreciate everyone’s involvement,” Maumus said. “Everyone in the city has been fantastic … and it’s so great to see how well you all work together and how well communicated everyone is.”

The project will highlight the building’s mid-century modern design and will include a green space along the former bank’s drive-thru.

“Tyler is such a great city and … it continues to grow,” Maumus said. “It was a large part of the company’s decision to invest.”

Focused on historic redevelopment projects to preserve a building’s cultural appeal, NORF also purchased The Fair and The Lindsey, two other historic buildings on South Broadway within a block of The Wilcox.

The real estate company also has plans on renovating the iconic Carlton Hotel; however, plans have been complex due to financing.

“The Wilcox is a little less capital-intensive so we were at a point where we could get things moving with it and we’re really excited about that,” Maumus said.

The projected date of completion is set for January 2024.

“I am so excited to see the continued growth in our downtown area and see how it was when I was growing up here in Tyler,” said District 3 Councilwoman Dr. Shirley McKellar. “Especially with the ‘walk and work’ element is … really amazing. It makes me feel like we’re in the downtown of bigger cities like New York or Dallas.”

“Any good movement happening downtown is going to benefit all of downtown,” said President of the Palette of Roses Art Gallery Diáne Reis. “It’s always exciting to have the opportunity to breathe new life into the area.”

The projects will make use of Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund tax benefits, Federal and State Historic Tax Credits, and potentially New Markets Tax Credits.

Qualified Opportunity Zones are state-designated areas known to be underdeveloped and in need of economic expansion through redevelopment or job growth, according to NORF.