Old Saul’s building in Gainesville Square has been sold. Here’s what’s next

Under new ownership, the old Saul building in Gainesville Square could get a nostalgic makeover.

“Right now it’s got the 60s, 70s look,” said new owner Ramon Gonzalez. “We look at old photos and it didn’t look like that originally. We’re bringing this look back. “

The two-story brick building at 100 Main Street has been several things over the years, including McLellans’ discount store, which was dated around the 1936 tornado, and later Saul’s, a womenswear store.

And now the plans to turn the downtown building into Thrive’s newest coworking location. Thrive offers alternative solutions for people looking for office space.

“We located our spaces in these cool, pedestrian-friendly, gentrified downtown neighborhoods,” said Gonzalez, the company’s founder. “People want to be in these places … now that people have the opportunity to work from anywhere.

“That’s why we’re hyper-focused on cool downtowns like Gainesville.”

The company, with locations in Alpharetta, Canton and Milton, bought the old Saul building in early October. It is slated to start leasing space by mid-2022, Gonzalez said.

Neither he nor Saul’s long-time former owner, Lawrence “Lorry” Schrage, wanted to reveal the purchase price.

Thrive says on its website that customers can add or remove space as needed and only pay for the space they use. “Expensive long-term leases in boring and lonely rooms are simply no longer enough,” says the website.

“We offer flexible workspaces for entrepreneurs and companies of all types,” said Gonzalez. “We also have some minor memberships like (for people who just need) a mailing address and we need some packages that need to be delivered … for people to do that.”

A tariff structure specific to the Gainesville market will be established later. The Alpharetta fee is $ 2,490 per month.

Thrive would like to make some cosmetic improvements to the building.

The plan is to “restore the building to its original appearance,” said Gonzalez.

The building, which has been on the market since 1900, has been largely intact on the square since 1900 and barely missed the brunt of the tornado of 36.

Saul’s took over the building in the mid-1970s. During a tour of the building in June, Schrage displayed a McLellan’s sign advertising a special sale on “Ladies Shorts” for 49 cents, suggesting “use our lay-away plan.”

In June, Schrage said of the building’s future that he has three people who “really want it, but I don’t know where it’s going”.

The post Old Saul’s building in Gainesville Square has been sold. Here’s what’s next first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

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