Southern locals fury as charming $1.9m home seeped in history is demolished by 'greedy' developers

By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:41, 12 May 2026 | Updated: 18:44, 12 May 2026 North Carolina locals are fuming after developers who scooped up a historic property began demolition when a $1.9 million sale fell through. Marc Nevin of Nevin Homebuilders and Geoff Mitchell of MitchCo. Custom Builders began tearing down a 6,653-square-foot mansion that was built in 1924 in Winston-Salem over the weekend, Triad Business Journal reported. The business partners purchased the home at 1020 Kent Road for $1.4 million in March and planned to demolish it to build three separate homes on the property.   Nevin previously told TBJ that the property needed extensive renovation, which is why they decided to demolish it rather than restore it.  However, after they faced initial backlash, the business partners looked to sell the home. 'I get it - the house was 100 years old, it was designed by a famous architect, but it's gone through some really bad renovations over the years, and the original is just not there anymore,' Nevin said.  'That's why when I bought it and was going to tear it down, I had no clue the uproar it would be.'  Both parties had entered into a deal to sell the house for $1.9 million, but the buyer backed out on Friday, and demolition began over the weekend, according to the newspaper. Demolition began on a 6,653-square-foot mansion, known as Stockton House, that was built in 1924 in Winston-Salem Marc Nevin of Nevin Homebuilders and Geoff Mitchell of MitchCo. Custom Builders began tearing down the historic home over the weekend The historic property, known as Stockton House, is located in the Reynolda Park area and was designed by noted architect Charles Barton Keen, according to local non-profit Preservation Forsyth. 'Its architectural pedigree and its association with early 20th-century development in the Reynolda area make it an important part of Winston-Salem's historic landscape,' the group wrote on Facebook. 'The loss of this home would represent a meaningful erosion of the city's architectural heritage'  'Properties like the Stockton House contribute to the character, history, and sense of place that define our community.' Locals were outraged on social media about the destruction of the home and accused the business partners of being greedy.  'So devastated about it. Not only is it a slap in the face to Winston-Salem’s history, but McMansions don’t belong in that neighborhood. The house was gorgeous inside. It’s flat out wasteful to knock the house down,' one person wrote on Reddit. 'I think the developers were dishonest and greedy. They had buyers and were impossible to work with. They were trying to sell for half a million more than they paid.' Another person wrote on Facebook,  'And so many need a place to live, greed is the worst thing to have.' 'That could have been renovated and used for Veterans housing, but no. Rip down historic houses that have survived 100+ years and build cardboard cut-out houses that start falling apart in 5 years. Hope these builders can sleep at night, just shameful,' added a third. Other people came to Nevin and Mitchell's defense, insisting they had bought the property legally and could do what they wanted with it. 'I mean, what’s wrong with it? A person bought it and wanted to tear it down?' one person wrote. 'Who cares what they do. No one else was buying the property if it was so important, someone should have bought it before the developer did,' added a second. 'It's that same thing every time a restaurant closes or something like this happens, people complain, but while it was there, they don't care about it.' The Daily Mail contacted Nevin and Mitchell for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.