Jonathon Morris, U.S. Ranger Ret. and Rowan County Sheep Baron
♦ New Year’s Eve may say a sad farewell to a long-lasting toothache on South Main–the Empire Hotel. Now that the state legislature is letting the Historic Preservation Tax Credit lapse on December 31st, the window of opportunity is about to slam shut on the Empire’s future perhaps forever. A dank flophouse unopened to the public since 1963, the Empire Hotel suffers from grandiose exaggerations about its potential re-purposing as a hotel with zero parking. Perhaps true Salisbury visionaries will see The Empire as an untapped nitrogen rich mineral deposit made so by a multi-generational bat colony leaving decades of bat guano to compete with the smell of lead dust and black mold. And deeper in the storied hotel’s basement are the secret catacombs no one wants to talk about.
The rumors swirl in these last days of the Empire. A local hotelman is alleged to have made an offer to take the “hotel” gratis and develop it into heaven knows what. Another rumor has a developer wanting to fill the Empire with 57 low cost housing units to be built on grant money (taxpayer money). Just the thing Salisbury’s suffering downtown needs is the addition of more apartments in an area filled with empty apartments and unleased offices. And what would downtown Salisbury appear like if they rented those low cost apartments? Not exactly what the downtown merchants ordered.
Will they build a tunnel from the Empire to the 90 seat teleconferencing center at the far end of the Integro building? How about a new restaurant to help put another restaurant out of business downtown? More boutique shops or a bowl-a-rama to give the city’s youth something to do?
Downtown Salisbury Inc. was urged by city council to buy the Empire Hotel in 2007, and was enabled by a coalition of seven banks (now five) who underwrote the financing. For seven years, I’ve read the perennial announcement that “something really big” is about to happen. Developers are pouring into Salisbury with dollar signs in their eyes…Somehow it never happens. Perhaps its because the Empire’s condition which cries out for an extremely expensive abatement, gutting, and a major renovation likely running into the gazillions.
Ever since I can remember that hideous Jules Verne style building, across from City Hall on South Main, screams that someone made a huge mistake.
Perhaps Salisbury’s city council should skim off the water/sewer monies, if there’s any left, by taking out another interest-only “loan” that it never intends to pay back. Objections by Fitch and Moody’s? No problem, because Salisbury would be stepping out and making a revolutionary breakthrough in bringing the Empire back to life and shutting up all the naysayers who take one look at the monstrosity on South Main and either laugh or join the chorus: “Take it down!”
And what if the use of water and sewer funds were to be challenged? City hall never listened to anyone before–why bother now?
Will DSI announce that a developer is availing himself of the expiring historic preservation tax credit, combined with some funding supplied by Salisbury taxpayers and perhaps a special tax credit for developing low-income housing. Combined, the various credits will pay for close to 1/2 of the rehabilitation, while grants and benefactors will help defray the overpriced purchase of the structure from the remaining 5 banks who are still on the hook the “bold” rescue of the Empire in 2007.
The low-income housing option wasn’t what city council had hoped for. But as the state’s historic preservation tax credits are about to expire, they will settle for what most outside experts agree is the “highest and best use” for a flop-house that shuddered in 1963, a more modern and up-to-date flop-house, funded with welfare dollars.
Once the Empire crammed to capacity, downtown ‘vibrancy’ will be something to behold. No parking? No problem! The big banking moguls in town will be happy to just see something go into the building. The laughing will now be directed at the developer who took them off the hook.
Hurry–December the 31st is almost here.
