Agenda - 06-16-2015 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

11 1 the vicinity as development continues. Durham Technical Community College —The 2 town is not aware of any activity related to the Community College. 3 4 Historic Mills —The town designated both the Bellevue and Eno Cotton Mills (aka 5 Hillsborough Business Center) as local historic landmarks at the end of 2014 to allow 6 the owners the local landmark tax reduction. There is an active contract to purchase the 7 Bellevue Mill and implement its conversion to apartments with the state mill tax credit 8 still available to this site. The Eno Cotton Mill continues its efforts to renovate its spaces 9 and make them available for a wider variety of uses. 10 11 Former Colonial Inn —The town has contracted with the Development Finance 12 Initiative (DFI) through the UNC School of Government for technical assistance and 13 advice regarding tools available to incentivize or encourage the renovation of this 14 property. The report is expected back in mid-March. 15 16 Highway 70 Corridor Update and Opportunities- The town submitted a grant request, 17 supported by the County Economic Development staff, to seek technical assistance 18 from an economic development consulting firm to help the town better understand its 19 options to participate in and incentivize the redevelopment of the Cornelius Street 20 corridor. As the town does not have specialized economic development staff, the hope 21 was to develop an understanding of key data or programs that can be collected, 22 monitored or implemented to assist with limited oversight. A number of key properties in 23 the corridor are available for sale. Unfortunately the town was not selected to receive the 24 grant. 25 26 Commissioner Dorosin asked for clarification about the update regarding the Colonial 27 Inn. 28 Margaret Hauth reiterated that the report from the DFI had yet to be received. She said 29 the report will be received at the May meeting. 30 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the report is expected to have a set of alternatives for 31 the Town to consider. 32 Margaret Hauth said yes. 33 Mayor Stevens said the report will be a financial package. He said the owner has been 34 cooperative in allowing access to the building, which has been helpful. 35 Eric Hallman said the results will probably show that the ultimate value of the Inn will be 36 less than the cost to renovate. He said funding would likely be part public and part private. He 37 said the Town Board is interested in seeing if getting involved makes economic sense for the 38 Town. 39 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the expected scenario is such due to the poor condition 40 and deterioration of the structure. 41 Eric Hallman said UNC has had the building accessed and what the renovations costs 42 will be. He said possible usage options and potential rents were considered. He said it was a 43 very thorough analysis. He said there is a window to do something as there is a parallel 44 process occurring where an interested party has made contact with mortgage holder. 45 46 !21 County Development Updates 47 Detention Facility 48 Jeff Thompson said the Detention Facility is replacing a 90 year old jail located in the 49 center of town. He said the proposed location for the new facility is near the Orange 50 Correctional Facility across from McDonalds on 6.8 acres of State land that has been leased for