Meg Hibbert
Contributing writer
The historic former Peacock-Salem Launderers & Cleaners building at 231 S. Colorado sold last week.
Although the auctioneer would not confirm details until the sale is final in about 30 days, bystanders at the July 28 event said the buyer was Faisal Khan. Khan purchased and developed the former Ridenhour Music building on Main Street in Salem and turned it into apartments.
His company, 501 Salem LLC, also developed Ponce De Leon apartments in Roanoke and Locker Room Lofts in a former YMCA facility.
Walker Commercial Services conducted the auction. Asher Walker said he could not disclose the buyer’s name nor purchase price at this time because of confidentiality agreements.
The old steam laundry building has been vacant for years. It was originally built in 1916 and operated continuously for almost 100 years, first as Salem Steam Laundry.
It is listed as being 18,998 square feet on .65 acres. At one time it had a listed price of $380,000. Bystanders said it sold at auction for $160,000.
The property is on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places, listed on the state register in 2018 and the national list the following year.
In 1934 brothers John Lee Logan and Joseph Logan acquired the business and renamed it Peacock-Salem. Family members had a fondness for peacocks, and once had the birds on the family farm on Wildwood Road in Salem.
The family operated the business for nearly 70 years. At one time the cleaners employed dozens of workers, and was said to have served thousands of residential accounts and more than 100 commercial clients.
The Logan family operated the cleaners until 2000 when it was sold to Air-Lee Laundry.
