County, town complete agreement for Manteo Town Commons property

Debris had been cleared from where the Hotel Fort Raleigh once stood on Oct. 8, 2019. [Sam Walker photo]

Demolition is almost complete of the old Hotel Fort Raleigh and adjacent buildings in downtown Manteo, and now an agreement is in place for the site to eventually become Manteo Town Commons.

Manteo town commissioners approved a plan in July for the county-owned site that once house Dare County government offices between Ananias Dare and Budleigh streets that includes a large green space and parking for between 50 and 75 vehicles.

The Dare County Board of Commissioners finalized a 25-year lease agreement with the town on Monday for three adjoining parcels, with the town paying $1.00 per year.

The three parcels, prior to demolition, located at 217 Budleigh Street, 200 Ananias Dare Street, and 204 Ananias Dare Street. [image courtesy DareNC.com]
As part of the agreement, the town will be solely responsible for the costs of construction and maintenance of the Town Commons.

To help resolve long-standing parking issues in downtown Manteo, county commissioners requested that a minimum of 65 parking places be included in designs for the space.

The county proposed demolishing the buildings most recently in 2015 but public outcry led to giving preservationists a chance to save the hotel that opened in 1931.

But repairs were found to be too costly and efforts to get a buyer fell through for the building that has stood vacant in recent years.

The former Hotel Fort Raleigh prior to demolition on August 4, 2019. [Doug Dino photo]
It once served as a hotel and a community meeting place until being converted to apartments.

The building then became the Dare County Administrative Building in 1974, before the offices moved to the Dare County Government Complex in 2001.

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About Sam Walker 1512 Articles
Sam Walker was news director for OBXToday.com, Beach 104, 99.1 The Sound, Big 94.5 WCMS and Z 92.3 from August 2011 to March 2022.