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.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/917709
8 UCW DECEMBER 20 - 26, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM NEWS JEFF THOMPSON, Senior News Reporter. COMMENTS? news@ upandcomingweekly.com. (910) 484-6200. e public is now learning some of what Fayetteville City Council has been discussing behind closed doors in recent weeks and months. e council talked at length last week about a project related to the construction of a minor league base- ball stadium in downtown Fayetteville. Citizens learned for the first time of a significant cost overrun for a planned parking deck on property adjacent to the ballpark. Deputy City Manager Kristoff Bauer disclosed that the projected cost has more than doubled since he first of- fered what he called a "rough estimate of $7 million." Council was asked to approve a new cost of $14.8 million. PCH Holdings of Durham has plans to develop propert y near the stadium, including a four-stor y parking garage with a four-stor y hotel on top of it. ey will also build a 7- to 10-stor y apartment building next to it. Council has appar- ently been discussing this issue during closed meetings. An attorney for the North Carolina Press Association has questioned whether the proposal was an appropriate closed- door exception allowed under the state's Open Meetings law. e city has agreed to buy the parking garage from the developer once it's finished. PCH Hold- ings will sell the building at its cost. PCH project manager Jordan Jones said originally that the garage would be for the exclusive use of its hotel guests. But with the city taking ownership of the facility, it could be used by baseball fans and oth- ers. e agreement almost didn't get off the ground, as council initially shocked the chamber when it voted 5-5 to reject the plan. New mem- bers – Tyrone Williams, Tisha Waddell, D.J Haire and Johnny Dawkins – plus veteran councilman Bill Crisp voted against the parking deck because of its high cost. "We're missing our numbers in a big, big way," said Dawkins. Crisp exercised a personal privilege by immediately calling for reconsideration of the vote without discussion. He and Haire flipped, and the final vote for ap- proval was 7-3. "I ain't comfortable with it, but we've got to go with it," Crisp said. Council adjourned soon after the vote, having no idea where the additional $7 million would come from. Jones said the total cost for its pro- posed developments would not exceed the planned $65 million. at includes more than $13 million for the renovation of the former Prince Charles Hotel. "e interior has been gutted," Jones said of the eight-story building. It will be refurbished before the exterior of the facility is done over. Downtown facing significant cost overrun by JEFF THOMPSON PCH Holdings of Durham has plans to develop property near the stadium, includ- ing a four-story parking garage with a four-story hotel on top of it.