Investors plan to renovate downtown Fayetteville hotel
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- At 30 years old, even Pierre Clay can remember the Prince Charles Hotel's glory days. His sister-in-law was on the hotel staff. He'd eaten in the restaurant, and enjoyed the vibrant feel the historic building brought to Downtown Fayetteville.
"It reminds you of that old-school cafe-type feeling," Clay reminisced. "It was actually a pretty nice building before they shut it down. You would really like to see something like this really get a facelift."
Clay, along with city leaders and business owners, is looking forward to seeing that facelift unfold as the next chapter in the Prince Charles Hotel history begins.
This week, the City of Fayetteville announced investors have taken the property off the auction block. The Prince Charles Holdings, LLC team includes Durham-based developer Michael Lemanski, California entrepreneur Michael Cohen, Fayetteville native Jordan Jones, and Rory Dowling.
The team submitted the only bid on the property, $200,000, buying it from owner John Chen. They've also purchased adjoining land and parking lot space, with early plans calling for residential rental renovations.
"The city is very excited that we've got a developer who knows how to develop these types of projects," said Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson. "The development of this type of property, with these experts, brings new breath into downtown."
Built in 1926, the Prince Charles has seen better days. Over the past two decades it's closed and reopened, faced code violations and hefty fines, and finally closed its doors for good in 2010. Vandalism has marred the property that is often seen as an eyesore to the Downtown Fayetteville entryway.
Other developers have tried their hand at renovating the property, but plans have fallen through in the past for various reasons. State historic tax credits would be key recent potential investors have said. Those credits were eliminated last year, and just last week city leaders toured historical downtown Fayetteville properties to highlight the need for state support.
Susan Kluttz, the secretary of the state Department of Cultural Resources, advocated for credits to revive more than a dozen properties like the Prince Charles.
Standing in the middle of the hotel entranceway, she said she could imagine herself as a robed guest in a renovated Prince Charles.
"I think it breaks your heart [the hotel's condition], unless you believe like I do that we're going to get it back," Kluttz said. "It's going to come back."
Welcoming neighbors
Alejandra Daniels rocks her newborn in the window of the Bumbledoo Baby Store along Hay Street. From there, the staff member can see the business potential of turning the Prince Charles into residential property.
"I mean it's downtown. It's close to everything," she said. "You have a baby store. Right next door, you have a restaurant, the library. Who wouldn't want to live there?"
She hopes to see young families move in.
"It's a family-oriented store. So if they have families, we'd love for them to come and shop with us," she said.
John Malzone, a prominent downtown business owner said Tuesday that he's excited for the new development team to step in. Malzone was also on last week's walking tour of historic downtown Fayetteville properties, promoting tax credits as good investments.
"You look at the museums. You look at the arts. You look at the restaurants, and then you look at the potential for the future," Malzone said last week. "So, it's very good."
