A stated goal for the city in funding Segra Stadium, the new home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (High A; Carolina League), was to drive downtown development. With the popularity of a renovated Prince Charles Hotel, that goal is being addressed.
Located at an edge of downtown Fayetteville, Segra Stadium helped attract investment from Prince Charles Holdings, whose $110-million plan includes the renovation of the next-door Prince Charles Hotel into apartments, 84,000 square feet of office space, a new Hyatt Place hotel, residential and retail. The new office/retail/parking structure is going up behind the ballpark grandstand, while the Prince Charles Hotel is now partially open. Eventually a plaza will unite the three old and new structures, with space in front of the ballpark for vendors.
The opening of the “The Gathering at the Prince Charles” rental units is generating some buzz, with leasing exceeding expectations as the first units open. From the Fayetteville Observer:
Three months after residents started moving into the former hotel that underwent a major renovation, 32 of the 58 rental units are either occupied or under lease, and residents will be moving in soon, project manager Jordan Jones said….
“We’re currently 40 percent occupied on apartments with another 15 percent pre-leased, with this 15 percent moving in the next 10 to 20 days,” Jones said. “We’re making very strong progress, tracking better than anticipated.”
John Malzone, a real estate broker who for decades has rented and sold buildings downtown, said considering the circumstances, the rental numbers are great.
“You got a new project in a construction site,” he said. “They are looking at cranes and concrete right now.”
Leasing the more expensive units in the apartment building will be a bigger challenge; we’re talking about the low-hanging fruit already off the market. And leasing office space in the adjacent building will be another big challenge, to be sure. But so far the city investment in the ballpark did what it was designed to do: bring in additional investment to the city.