Old home, new business space in Steele Creek

In two decades of wealth management, tucked into a professional center like many others in the area, Craig Faile never had people stopping in just to check out his office.

Now, people are turning off the highway asking if they can take a peek.

“A lot of people think this is a new business,” said Faile, 42, advisor with Blackbridge Financial. “It’s really just a new location.”

His new location is an old one in Steele Creek, a home built in the 1970s at N.C. 49 and Langston Drive, just beside Palisades Park Elementary School. So close, in fact, Faile could keep tabs on his sons there if he wanted, without leaving the new office.

“I can be in here meeting with a client, and see them out there playing in the playground,” he said. “It’s neat.”

Such views weren’t always a feature of the home. Long before the school was there, or The Palisades where Faile and his family live, a small residence was built. Photos show a typical home at 1,300 square feet. When Faile bought it almost two years ago, it hadn’t been lived in for some time.

The Lancaster native spent about 18 months remodeling. He spent months rezoning and permitting it, a tall task switching from residential code of decades ago to commercial standards today. He worked with the county on watershed setbacks and American Disabilities Act compliance. He installed a ramp and got creative with the limited parking on site. He installed permeable pavers to meet runoff rules, but was pleased to find most people assumed it was for aesthetic appeal.

Faile poured himself into the process. He wanted something all his on, unlike the serviceable but less intimate professional spaces elsewhere.

“I didn’t feel like it was mine,” he said.

The once-home now has two offices, a furnished conference room, a small kitchen space and entrance area. Hardwood floors stretch throughout the building. Coffered ceiling boxes were designed around support beams. And there are windows everywhere. The school, highway and woods are visible from just about anywhere in the building.

Faile, now with his five-minute commute, has been in wealth management for decades and expects to be in business at least as long still. Which is why he didn’t mind taking the extra time, and cost, to create the environment he wanted. And, for people who pass by on the highway each day — whether they stop to peek — a more appealing site than was there prior.

“We’re going to be here every day,” Faile said. “We’re not going to be selling. We’re going to be here for a long time, so we wanted to get it right.”

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 9:13 AM with the headline "Old home, new business space in Steele Creek."