Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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MARCH 15-21, 2017 UCW 11 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM The City of Fayetteville has been dealt a setback on its plan to finance its $33 million minor league baseball stadium over 30 years. The North Carolina Local Government Commission told a city staff delegation in Raleigh that the city should limit its amortization schedule to 20 years. The commission is an agency of the State Treasurer's office that approves cities' and counties' long- term debt service. "We were mildly surprised the staff was not amenable to it," said City Manager Doug Hewett at a city council stadium committee meeting. Stadium Finance Chairman Kirk deViere said the upside of the commission's decision is that the city will save more than $11 million in interest by retiring the debt in 20 years. Adjustments to the financing plan should not be a problem, deViere added. Stadium committee member Jim Arp emphasized the financial arrangements have no effect on the city's 30-year agreement with the Houston Astros to provide the community with a minor league baseball team. That process is moving along at a pace envisioned by city council last fall. Groundbreaking on the city center ballpark is scheduled to take place in July. That's about the same time Prince Charles Holdings will begin renovations to the former Hay Street hotel. The Durham urban development firm has been negotiating a land swap deal with city council for many weeks. "We should have a deal by the end of the month," said PCH Project Manager Jordan Jones. Committee Chairman Mitch Colvin isn't as optimistic, saying that he can't put an end date on the negotiations but believes it will be soon. The stadium and surrounding amenities will be built on a nine-acre triangular tract bordered by two sets of railroad tracks and Hay Street. The city owns much of the property and PCH, owners of the old hotel, owns the rest. The city can't build the stadium without acquiring some of the PCH property. And PCH wants some of what the city owns to construct a four-story, 350-car parking deck with a four-story hotel on top of it. PCH expects to invest $23 million to refurbish the eight-story hotel into 62 apartments and a luxury penthouse and build the parking deck and hotel, subject to ongoing negotiations. Details of the land swap and possible shared cost of those projects have been discussed for weeks by the council stadium committee behind closed doors. Hewett points out that coming to a final agreement on the master development plan, a separate contract with the city's stadium construction manager, Barton Malow, must be completed before the project can proceed. He will ask the full council to consider voting on the contracts at its last meeting of this month. JEFF THOMPSON, Senior News Reporter. COMMENTS? news@upandcomingweekly. com. 910.484.6200. Stadium Financing Setback by JEFF THOMPSON Fayetteville's historic Prince Charles Hotel may one day be brought back to life as a dynamic downtown centerpiece. For many years, the once-prosperous hospitality property has been anything but. Several attempts at repurposing the eight-story building have failed. A Durham developer, Prince Charles Holdings, believes it can breathe new life into the 90-year-old structure. It purchased the building and adjoining parking lot at auction in 2014 for $200,000. Michael Cohen, an advocate of historic preservation, is the lead investor for the project. "I'm excited about the opportunity to bring one of Fayetteville's most iconic buildings back to life and contribute to the revitalization process already underway in downtown Fayetteville," Cohen said. He's awaiting final approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a low interest loan to begin the work of refurbishing the once proud hotel. The firm hopes to begin reconstruction this summer. Fayetteville City Council believes the repurposed hotel building, along with an adjacent $33 million minor league baseball stadium, will be the economic catalyst for $100 million in economic investments on only nine acres of inner-city property. "That whole area around the hotel is going to be developed into retail and commercial space," said Mayor Nat Robertson. "It will also include additional apartments and a hotel," he added. Planning is nearing completion for construction of the stadium and the property around it. Almost unnoticed has been the redevelopment of a couple dozen heretofore vacant buildings in the downtown area. The first block of Person Street has come to life with historic updating. Along the south side of West Russell Street, smaller buildings have been repurposed into offices. Larger commercial buildings left vacant for decades have been restored, cleaned up and reoccupied. The Moore Building at 215 Williams Street has spawned investor interest in a once-impoverished section of town. It houses two or three small businesses and a large, open social hall. Down the street, at 159 Maxwell Street, the Greater Fayetteville Chamber occupies a building built as a warehouse more than a century ago. "It was put to many uses over the years, and before being occupied by the Chamber, it was Zimmerman Millwork and Cabinetry," said City Historian Bruce Daws. At 112-114 Gillespie, Street, Sherefe Mediterranean Restaurant used to be Fayetteville Drug Company before it closed many years ago. It was built in 1891, according to Daws. Historic tax credits assisted property owners in making financial investment that made these facilities useable once again. The investments were good for local government, too, since they enhanced the tax value of the properties. Of particular interest, on Bragg Boulevard near W. Rowan Street just outside downtown, is a former gas station, which is now a used car lot. "It was built as a service station by the Rankin Family after World War II," said Daws. Because of its historic significance, the N.C. Department of Transportation spared the building while demolishing everything around it to build the new Rowan Street bridges and realign Bragg Boulevard, Murchison Road and Rowan Street. "We hope to acquire the building and restore its historic significance," said City Manager Doug Hewett. Repurposing Old Buildings by JEFF THOMPSON The Moore Building (above) and Amen Auto (below) are relevant to Fayetteville's history. This former gas station is now a used car lot. NEWS The North Carolina Local Government Commission told a city staff delegation in Raleigh that the city should limit its amortization schedule to 20 years.