The Courtyard
I hope none of you were surprised to hear about this development. (If so, it's because you apparently didn't read my recent rant about "the problem with downtown." Hint: It has something to do with negligent landlords.)
The bank filed a request late last month for a foreclosure hearing in
Orange County Superior Court, saying Spencer C. Young Investments
wasn't making payments on $2.63 million it had borrowed in 2005 to buy
the property.
[...]
In June, a collection agency sued Young, saying he had defaulted on
a $15,000 credit line from Citibank. Earlier, Wright Co. Electrical and
Maintenance Services sued Young in Orange County small claims court,
claiming almost $3,000 in unpaid services there and at a shopping
center he owns in Durham.
This summer, Raleigh-based Benjamin
Construction Inc. sued Young for more than $550,000, saying he did not
pay for construction of Baba Ghannouj, a Middle Eastern restaurant, and
various general improvements to the property.
I just drove through Eastgate, and and wow that place is really coming together. It looks quite nice and there are lots of appealing businesses there. However, almost none of them are locally owned. WomanCraft seems to be the only local business there now. I would so much prefer to spend my money at a business that supports the local economy and supports our downtown. I started to think about why our downtown is starting to struggle after so many years of vitality.
No, it's not the panhandlers, lack of parking, or drunk students. I think It's the landlords. Or at least some landlords, most notably Spencer Young who is actively driving tenants away from The Courtyard while piling on loans that he apparently can't pay, and Joe Riddle who is responsible for at least two empty store fronts and a vacant lot on Franklin Street. Riddle is a developer who lives in Fayetteville. He was arrested on felony drug charges in 2005, and he currently owns several properties in Northside and downtown Chapel Hill worth a total tax value of $1,795,460 (according to Orange County GIS).
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