Fayetteville Police Department looks to lease space in former hotel

Fayetteville police officers will have an office in the eastern part of the city soon, city records show.

The City Council voted Monday night to authorize the city manager to negotiate a lease with GoodHomes Communities LLC for space at the former Clarion Hotel, 1944 Cedar Creek Road, at an annual rate of $100 during the next three years.

New York-based GoodHomes Communities is a private real estate investment company that converts existing buildings nationwide into housing for people earning 80-120% of the area's median income. The median income for Fayetteville is $56,685, according to the Census .

The company is currently convertin the former Clarion Hotel and the former Bordeaux Motor Inn and Holiday Inn Bordeaux at 1707 Owen Drive into housing, according to city records and GoodHomes Communitie s.

Certificates of occupancy could be issued within the next 30 days, for both the Owen Drive and Cedar Creek Road locations, Catina Rhinehart, a representative of Sweetwater Property Management which is overseeing the locations, said in a statement last week.

Plans for office

In a message to city council members, city real estate manager Kecia Parker said that GoodHomes Communities, LLC and the Fayetteville Police Department would like to have a police workstation within the residential community being built in the former Clairon Motel.

“The proposed leased premises will be a mutually acceptable space,” Parker said.

GoodHomes Inc. plans to convert the former hotel into a 201-unit apartment community with one-bedroom and studio units and 15,000 square feet of commercial space, the company's website states.

Aside from the Campbellton District, which covers the eastern part of the city and operates out of the Police Department headquarters downtown at 467 Hay St., the police department has two substations.

The Cross Creek District substation, at 6147 Raeford Road, covers the western part of the city. The Central District substation, at 3811 Sycamore Dairy Road, covers the center of the city. City documents state that the proposed lease would be for at least 1,000 square feet of space that includes six personal storage lockers and four designated parking spaces for police vehicles.

The city records state that the Police Department may have 24-hour access to the property.

Maj. Lee Hicks, chief of staff for the Fayetteville Police Department, said that the space will be for the use of officers who patrol the Campbellton District.

Hicks said it won't be manned 24 hours, but residents can engage with officers if they see a patrol car at the site.

The lease would start 30 days after the certificate of occupancy is issued by the Fayetteville Development Services Department, according to city records.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville Police Department looks to lease space in former hotel