The New Hanover County commissioners declared its property at 104 N. Fourth St. surplus with the intention of selling it. (Google Photos)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY — On Monday, the New Hanover County commissioners declared one of its downtown properties surplus with the intention of selling it, though not without some hesitation from one commissioner.
The property is located at 104 N. Fourth St., former home of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office’s Vice and Detectives Division on the third floor of the AT&T building. The Vice and Detectives Division has relocated to a new facility onsite with the detention center on Blue Clay Road.
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According to county staff, the new $8-million facility was completed last year with the intention of using proceeds from the sale of the 15,500-square-foot-space at 104 N. Fourth St. to offset its cost.
Though not much was said on the item at Monday’s meeting, the commissioners and staff discussed the property in further detail at the commissioners’ agenda review meeting last week.
“The county does not have an identified need, the sheriff does not have an identified need,” Coudriet said about the Fourth Street property. “We have 320 Chestnut [Street] that can still be upfitted for accommodating growth.”
However, Commissioner Rob Zapple questioned if selling the property was the right move when the county could choose to retain it for any potential use and lease it out in the meantime.
“I guess this is my conservative nature when it comes to property, the last resort is to let it go,” Zapple said.
Coudriet explained, if the county kept the property, there would be restrictions on how the lease could be structured; in particular it would be limited to a 9.5-year term per North Carolina general statute. The space would also likely need upfits to make it more desirable to potential renters. Still, Zapple said, the county could lease it out for that time period and then sell the space later, most likely at a higher price.
Chief Financial Officer Eric Credle explained the county had planned to use the money from from the sale to offset the cost of the new facility.
“There’s $2 million we’ve been counting on to make up the gap,” Credle said,
Coudriet added the county is assuming it will get $2 million from the sale.
Commissioner LeAnn Pierce, elected chair on Monday night, questioned if they should be discussing the expected price of the property in open session. Staff explained the number being floated is already part of the public record.
To assuage Zapple’s concerns, Coudriet and other commissioners reminded him and the audience that declaring the property surplus would not commit the commissioners to an actual sale of the property. It would initiate an upset bid process, meaning interested parties would submit offers; the county would either need to accept the highest bid that emerged or reject them all.
“What y’all are asking us to approve is to essentially go and see in the marketplace what we might be able to sell this property for,” Commissioner Dane Scalise said.
Zapple questioned if the county has received any interest from buyers, to which Coudriet confirmed none had been received. The county manager said the county won’t know what the “appetite” for the space until it is declared surplus.
The declaration of surplus passed unanimously on Monday as part of the commissioners’ consent agenda.
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