LUMBERTON — The city is less than two weeks away from starting the process of removing a once-vibrant hotel that has stood empty for almost three years, becoming an eyesore in that time, and clearing the way for new commercial development.

On Wednesday, the City Council approved accepting a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state to pay for the demolition of the Ramada Inn that sits on 5.3 acres of land at 3608 Kahn Drive. The hotel has been unused since Hurricane Matthew roared through the area in October 2016, flooding it. At the time it also housed Adelio’s Restaurant, which has since moved downtown.

The city is in the process of sending the grant documentation back to the state, City Manager Wayne Horne said Friday.

“We have to sign it, and they have to sign it,” Horne said.

The state-signed documentation should be received by the city in a week to 10 days, he said.

The next step is to write up specifications for demolition of the 72,000-square-foot building, Horne said. Then the city must write a proposal for getting the job done, with qualifications the city is looking for in a company to be hired to tear down the hotel. The goal is to present the specifications and proposals to City Council in September.

The next goal is to solicit and then present in October bids on the job so City Council can pick one.

The $400,000 grant comes with a catch.

“This is a redevelopment grant, not just a demolition grant,” Horne said.

The grant application included letters from property owner Harry Jhala stating he will meet certain hiring and revenue thresholds, the city manager said. Jhala periodically must send to the state documentation verifying he is meeting the thresholds.

“He has two years to meet them,” Horne said.

The city has a deed of trust on the property, Horne said. If Jhala can’t meet the hiring and revenue thresholds, the city takes possession of the property.

“There’s always a call-back provision in these grants,” Horne said.

Regardless, news that City Council accepted the grant money made him feel much better about a bad business situation that has weighed on his shoulders since Hurricane Matthew flooded the property. The situation was exacerbated when Hurricane Florence flooded the property in September 2018.

“I’m very excited and relieved,” Jhala said.

This year is going to be a “blessed year” and 2020 is going to be better, he said. He can move forward with plans to tear down the hotel that originally was built in 1974 and he has owned since 2012 and rebuild on the land.

“It will be 2020 and maybe sooner, we will be in the construction phase,” Jhala said.

After the old Ramada Inn is torn down, the first task will be elevating the property, he said. He must meet city and Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines for elevating property in a flood plain before he can build.

Then there is the personal reason for elevating the property in order to protect it from floodwaters.

“I don’t want to go through that again,” Jhala said.

Jhala and his partner in the project, Mangesh Patel, owner of Karma Developers LLC in Atlanta, will use a bank loan to build hotels and restaurants on the land.

“We have the loan money already,” Jhala said.

Jhala and Patel plan to divide the land into three tracts. One tract will be for restaurants, and a multi-story hotel will be built on each of the other two tracts.

Moe’s Southwestern Grill, Schlotzsky’s and Cinnabon are slated to go into the eatery building, Jhala said.

“That area is looking so good, now,” Jhala said. “Mr. (Kenny) Biggs has done a wonderful job with the shopping center.”

The property is at Exit 20, where Roberts Avenue, one of the city’s busiest streets, intersects with Interstate 95, one of the nation’s busiest highways.

The Center Stage shopping center on Khan Drive lost a Kmart store, which was the anchor business, when it closed in the spring of 2016. Since then, a Planet Fitness, an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet and a Big Lots store have moved into the space.

Jhala said the restaurants and hotels he will build will fit into the area’s evolving appearance. The buildings will be modern and look good.

“I’m excited about getting it removed because so many people have spoken to me about what an eyesore it is,” City Councilman Leroy Rising said of the old hotel.

The Ramada Inn property is in Rising’s council Precinct 1.

The property also has “become dangerous,” Rising said.

In the years the hotel has been abandoned, homeless people have broken in to find shelter from the cold and from inclement weather. The building has been vandalized repeatedly and a portion of the building has burned.

“I hope the new construction will be a good economic boost to our area and attractive to people visiting Lumberton and to the people living here,” Rising said.

Jhala
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_Jhala_ne2018813152311887.jpgJhala

Horne
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_Horne.jpgHorne

Rising
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_Rising-Leroy.jpgRising

A sign on the door of the Ramada Inn at 3608 Kahn Drive in Lumberton declares that hotels and restaurants will be coming soon.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_ramada-inn-build-sign_ne2018881425124.jpgA sign on the door of the Ramada Inn at 3608 Kahn Drive in Lumberton declares that hotels and restaurants will be coming soon.

Demolition of the Ramada Inn at 3608 Kahn Drive in Lumberton could begin this fall. The owner, Harry Jhala, says construction of three restaurants could begin in 2020, or sooner. He plans to build two multi-story hotels on the property after the restaurants are built.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_DSCN6257_ne2019314134747797.jpgDemolition of the Ramada Inn at 3608 Kahn Drive in Lumberton could begin this fall. The owner, Harry Jhala, says construction of three restaurants could begin in 2020, or sooner. He plans to build two multi-story hotels on the property after the restaurants are built.
Local businessman has big plans for redevelopment

T.C. Hunter

Managing editor

Reach T.C. Hunter by calling 910-816-1974 or via email at [email protected].