(Update): The city of Sanford issued a press release at 4:49 p.m. Wednesday about the demolition. It it published in full below.
PRINCE MOTEL DEMO CLEARS WAY FOR DOWNTOWN’S NEXT CHAPTER
Sanford, NC – May 29, 2024 – Last May, City staff and local nonprofits were scrambling to place The Prince Downtown’s long-term tenants in decent housing following a judge’s order for the motel to close. This May, the vacant motel is finally being demolished.
After years of fighting nuisance and criminal activities at the motel, the City of Sanford and partners, including neighboring residents and businesses, pursued court action to clean up and restore safety to the area.
In late April 2023, the Lee County Superior Court ordered the motel to close its doors, giving two weeks for tenants to vacate the property. The City of Sanford worked with community nonprofits to find safe, decent, and affordable housing for displaced long-term tenants.
While the motel’s then-owners are appealing the Court’s 2023 decision, they also failed to make payments on their mortgage. The mortgage holder asked the Court to allow it to foreclose on the property and the Court granted its request.
The City stipulated the following conditions for the foreclosure: any buyer must demolish and remove the buildings on the property, and all future development on the property would be subject to specific restrictions.
“One of our main priorities following the motel’s closure has been to ensure the ongoing safety and security of the area,” says Mayor Rebecca Wyhof Salmon. “Demolishing the buildings accomplishes this major community goal.”
The City also required that, should the mortgage holder be the highest bidder, they would have three months after clearing the property to list it for sale. The future purchaser could not be an entity, family member, or person in business with either the former owners or the mortgage holder.
The mortgage holder agreed to the City’s conditions for the foreclosure. Because no other entity submitted a bid, the mortgage holder was able to buy back the property and must now comply with the stipulations – starting with demolishing and removing the buildings, currently in progress.
“This momentous occasion for our city and turning point for downtown was truly a team effort,” says Salmon. “Council and staff have been encouraged and supported by the community throughout the process. Those buildings coming down is a win for everyone involved.”
“Our goals were to protect the community from unsafe conditions while treating both tenants and neighbors fairly and with respect,” says Byron Buckels, Sanford City Council representative for Ward 4. “We achieved those goals while also setting a new foundation for this property to become a positive and productive part of our city – something that everyone has waited a long time to see.”
“The community wanted something good to come from the work and investment put into removing this blight,” says Linda Rhodes, Sanford City Council member at large. “Now is the time to pause and reflect on all we’ve accomplished, and know that we value the role everyone played in this outcome – we could not have gotten here on our own.”
“Our community partners and downtown residents have shown tremendous patience in trusting us through the long and incredibly complex legal process,” Salmon points out. “I am grateful for all the work done by our partners, current and previous Councils, and the neighborhood to lead us here.”
(Original story): Demolition work on the Prince Downtown Motel began this week.
As of Wednesday, the office portion of the controversial site had been demolished.
“The Problem With the Prince” was The Rant Monthly’s inaugural cover story in April 2019 and detailed years of complaints from neighbors in the area about the level of criminal activity surrounding the motel.
Three years later, Sanford city government announced it had filed a nuisance complaint against the property after gathering sworn affidavits from police, nearby residents and business owners, and even former drug dealers and other guests at the motel.
The site has been out of use since 2023, but a lawsuit filed by the motel’s original owners against their lender – who purchased the property at a foreclosure auction in February – remains ongoing. Jon Silverman, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in that case, said Wednesday he was unaware of the demolition and that the case is currently on the North Carolina Court of Appeals calendar.
City leaders weren’t immediately available for comment Wednesday.
