A building that has sold dry goods, hardware and lumber in downtown Monroe for more than a century has a new occupant: a doctor's office. The historic Nunnally Lumber Company building began a new chapter as Monroe Primary Care, with a grand-opening reception held Oct. 15 at 133 E. Church Street.
The renovation was carried out by The Eulalia Group, which renovated the former Nunnally Lumber Company building just outside downtown Monroe and transformed it into a medical office owned by Joel Garrison, DO, according to The Walton Tribune. The group explored several potential uses for the building before identifying a medical office as the best fit, and it says it viewed the project as an opportunity to steward the building for its next season of life. The Nunnally Building sits on North Broad Street, neighboring the Eulalia Building.
Chad Draper, a member of The Eulalia Group, has deep roots in downtown redevelopment. He co-founded JEC Development with his father in 1999 in downtown Monroe, a firm that went on to redevelop more than 50,000 square feet of historic commercial and residential space. Draper returned to Monroe in 2021 to found The Eulalia Group, which later brought that same preservation approach to the Nunnally building.
Tracing the Building Back to 1885
The structure's story stretches back more than 140 years. According to the Monroe Museum, the property was sold to Collie Breedlove, who built the present building about 1885 and entered the dry-goods business with W.H. Nunnally. That venture eventually took the name W.H. Nunnally & Co.
After Nunnally died in 1930, the building and business were sold to the Gallant-Belk Company, per the museum's records. Gallant-Belk moved to the Monroe Plaza shopping mall in 1969 and was temporarily replaced by Peters & Foster; in 1972, when Peters & Foster relocated to the old Big Apple store on Midland Avenue, the Nunnally location became home to Buckles Hardware. With Buckles Hardware's eventual closure, the building was restored and became known as Monroe Mercantile, the museum notes.
Honoring the Past While Reworking the Space
For this latest transformation, The Eulalia Group consulted the Nunnally family and the Monroe Museum and used historic photographs as inspiration for the restoration. The work prioritized exposing surviving historic features, opening up ceiling height, and reopening original door and window openings, while large windows now bring natural light into the building.
Monroe Mayor Susan Sykes framed the project as a bridge between the city's past and its present needs. She said bringing primary care downtown connects valued history with services the community needs, and added that preservation matters when a building continues contributing to everyday life. The project brought together The Eulalia Group, Synovus Bank, the city of Monroe and Monroe Primary Care.
A Family Practice Rooted in Lifestyle Medicine
Leading the new clinic is Dr. Joel Garrison, who according to his Piedmont provider profile is board-certified in family medicine and provides acute and chronic care to patients of all ages. He specializes in osteopathic manipulative medicine and has served the Walton County community since 2016. Lifestyle medicine — eating habits, exercise, healthy living and long-term wellness — is his preferred approach with patients, the profile states.
Garrison, Sandy Haupt and Tangel Smith are the primary care practitioners at Monroe Primary Care. The clinic's downtown location puts a physician within walking distance of nearby residents and workers, supporting the kind of everyday livability that officials say they want for the area around North Broad and Church streets.
The completed restoration, backers say, demonstrates that historic buildings can accommodate contemporary needs while retaining the character that distinguishes downtown Monroe. It is not the first recognition of that philosophy applied to this stretch of downtown — JEC Development previously received a Georgia Department of Community Affairs Award for the redevelopment of the Nunnally and Eulalia buildings.
