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/ An aerial photo of the Linden Mill, later the Carolina Asbestos Company, with smokestack, in downtown Davidson. Main Street and Davidson College Presbyterian Church are at the bottom. The photo is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. Here s a familiar story in the Charlotte region: An old brick textile mill is turned into something hip a brewery, apartments or a food hall. It happens all the time, but attempts to redevelop a 130-year-old cotton mill in downtown Davidson have failed. The problem is cancer-causing asbestos. It s buried on the site, and it s been an environmental hazard to the historically Black neighborhood that surrounds the mill. ....
Community Conversation: Join us 7 p.m. tonight for a discussion about what s happening with the town s asbestos removal and the possibility for redevelopment at the old Linden Mill. The event is free, but In this hourlong special, we ll hear stories about asbestos at an old, brick textile mill in Davidson, North Carolina, and how redevelopment might solve the problem. We ll learn how asbestos got into both the historically Black neighborhood nearby and elsewhere in town and how it s being cleaned up. And we ll talk to residents worried about how fixing one problem might contribute to another gentrification. Rather read than listen to the audio? Read the transcript. ....