Although the $66.50 per-sf price is considered to be in the high range for an older asset, Axiom principals Brian Hill and Paul Jamison plan to invest another $900,000 restoring and converting the building to offices for their firm and a Web design affiliate, Luminar Studios. The work is expected to be finished in 10 months.

The building is about a mile from Midtown and a short walk from Ericsson Stadium at Mint and Morehead, a district that continues to see renovation activity. About three years ago, a 1922 warehouse at South Mint was converted into 31,000 sf of office space. Also in the same area, the former Charlotte Manufacturing Co. warehouse was turned into 18,000 sf of offices.

The city's South End is pointed to as the most successful example of reclaiming an industrial strip. The Mint Street area doesn't have the density and commercial diversity of South End, where 10 years of steady redevelopment has established offices, retail shops and restaurants. But even so, the Mint Street area has managed to interest developers and investors.