No application yet for site development on Hotel Hinton project

Edenton’s town manager said last week the town still had not received a site development application from the owner of the Hotel Hinton property.

Town Manager Corey Gooden told Town Council on April 9 that his office held two virtual conferences with SAGA, the real estate development firm that owns the Hotel Hinton property, on its efforts to renovate the vacant structure as a tourist hotel. The meetings were held on Feb. 13 and March 14, and applications for site development were expected to be reviewed, he said.

But as of last week’s Town Council meeting, Gooden said no site development application for the project had been received. A town official said no application had been received from SAGA this week either.

“We’re supposed to have a follow-up call with the SAGA folks first thing in the morning to answer a few technical questions they have around the applications,” Gooden said at the meeting, indicating that he does expect progress with SAGA on the Hotel Hinton project.

The Hotel Hinton has been vacant for nearly 10 years, spurring a number of town residents to complain that it has become a magnet for vagrants, gangs, and drug users as well as a fire hazard.

On a different subject, Gooden expressed optimism about local efforts to attract another grocery store to town. He said he’s feeling positive about the efforts to bring a new tenant to the mostly vacant shopping center on Edenton’s north end.

“We continue to work with our shopping center owners, their broker, and the local property owners to get a second grocery store, but nothing has been finalized yet,” Gooden said. “We are exploring every option at the existing place and additional spaces, really trying to get creative here. … (There is) nothing new yet. We cannot wait to get a letter of intent.”

Gooden said the town is also attempting to get a hearing before Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett on its plans to move the town’s Confederate Monument from South Broad Street to Hollowell Park. He said he has not received an answer from the court about scheduling a hearing on the next open court date. Tillett imposed a temporary restraining order blocking the monument’s movement over a year ago after several groups with ties to the Confederacy sued Edenton to keep the monument where it is.

In other business, the council approved work orders for hangars and taxi lanes at Northeastern Regional Airport. The cost of the maintenance is $93,980.

Council also approved a request for qualification for professional engineering services, a first step toward hiring engineers for an asset inventory and assessment for the town’s sanitary sewer system.