EDENTON — Edenton Town Council voted Monday to table consideration of a developer’s request for a major special use permit to allow renovation of the long-vacant Hotel Hinton for both residential and commercial uses.
Mayor Hackney High said council needed more time to digest the plans submitted by SAGA Realty & Construction for the former hotel property that has been a focal point for community concern over the past several years.
SAGA’s request for the special use permit changes the project’s original scope and character. Instead of seeking to convert the building on East King Street into a full-service tourist hotel, SAGA’s new plans would convert the building into 15 short-term rentals and three extended-stay suites. The plans also call for two retail and commercial spaces, one of which could involve food service.
Sumit Gupta, SAGA’s CEO, addressed Town Council during a public hearing on his firm’s permit request. He said the original property plans, which included a roof-top bar, multiple restaurants, and a banquet facility, were projected to cost $25 million. He said the scaled-down version of the project would cost $9 million.
“It is now a mixed-use development with some retail,” Gupta said. “We don’t have the room now to put a fitness center or a banquet facility and things inside, but the town has some (of those things, which are) great resources.”
Gupta said SAGA’s plans incorporate what he called “a shared resource model.”
“There’s a gym across the street (from the Hotel Hinton property), there are restaurants here in the town,” he said. “There is a spa and there are great amenities that the town already has. So the hotel really becomes a place to go and rest in the evenings.”
Gupta said he needs the special use permit to apply for financing for the project, adding that the financing is contingent on town approval of SAGA’s plans. He said securing the project’s bank financing will take 12-14 months. He also said that SAGA has a two-year window to complete the project.
Gupta was apologetic about the 10 years it has taken to get the project to this point. SAGA bought the former hotel, which had been converted into a Chowan County office building, from Preservation North Carolina in 2015 with plans to restore the property for a hotel. But since then, the property has sat vacant, becoming a magnet for vandals, illegal drug users and others who’ve drawn the ire of Edenton residents and officials who say it’s now an eyesore and fire hazard.
In 2023, SAGA restored power to the building, installed a security fence and boarded up windows after complaints from the community. But because the building’s fire suppression system remains turned off, critics say it endangers the Historic Chowan County 1767 Courthouse, which sits only feet from the property.
“I take responsibility for it,” Gupta told Edenton Town Council, referring to the project’s delays Monday night. “I wanted to do something much bigger than we have here, which made it difficult. Then we ran into COVID, and since then, it’s been very difficult to get bank financing for development.”
SAGA has cited delays in getting Historic Preservation Tax Credits to help defray the cost of the renovations as the reason for the project’s delays. SAGA reportedly obtained those credits in July 2023 but no renovation work has taken place.
“We put a lot of time and energy into it,” Gupta said. “I personally got involved about three years ago, so for about a year and a half, we continued to push that larger development, but I wasn’t able to pull it off.”
In early 2024, SAGA was cited for code violations at the Hinton property, and the company promised to clean up and repair the structure. In July, SAGA submitted a request for the major special use permit, allowing the company to start work on renovating the structure.
Councilman Elton Bond told Gupta Monday that he’s watched the Hinton renovation project with dismay from the beginning.
“Sir, ordinarily, I’m not a very skeptical person, but like I said, you bought this place ten years ago. You said you would begin it within four years. Now it’s looking like it’s going to be several more years,” he said.
“The citizens of Edenton are steadily talking about this hotel and how it has become run down and getting worse by the day,” Bond continued. “So, I thought that in this meeting, you would tell me it would take X amount of time and construction would be completed.
“Now, it might not be completed four years from now. … When we first did this, I believed that in four years, I’d be sitting on the roof (of the Hinton), watching the water and eating dinner.”
Ten citizens addressed Town Council during the public hearing.
“I’m not here to defend SAGA,” Hal Murray said. “I’m here to remind us all that there’s plenty of blame to go around. We, the residents of Edenton, are where we are today with the Hotel Hinton, not solely because of SAGA. SAGA alone could not have done this by themselves. The Town Council over the last 10 years, managers and other officials over the last decade, through their good intentions, failed actions, lack of clarity, and a dearth of decisive decisions, have a share in bringing us where we are today.”
Lori Dablow was skeptical of any promises Gupta made, questioning what she described as a number of omissions in the company’s application for the special use permit. She cited the appearance of the new design as a visual example of what disappointed her.
“How does a Soviet-era military hospital design even begin to be remotely in harmony with this area?” Dablow asked. “Without a reliable applicant and experienced applicants to deliver it, (the permit application) means nothing when you consider the applicant’s 10 years of failure to comply with legal covenants.”
High adjourned the public hearing but promised SAGA’s permit request will be brought up again for consideration.
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