ROCKINGHAM — Improvements along a block of East Washington Street are underway as city leaders seek tenants for the former Food King property.
The sidewalk along the block is currently ripped up as part of a streetscape enhancement which stretches from the corner with Randolph Street to in front of Bold Moves Dance Studio.
Councilwoman Anne Edwards described it as “a pretty mess” as Councilwoman Denise Sullivan mentioned during her comments that the work being done was “exciting to see.”
City Manager Monty Crump said there were some sewer issues with the two buildings and that they were planning for service hookups that may be needed in the future.
“Since we were putting new curbing and concrete in there, it made sense to go ahead and make sure all the services to the building were up to standard,” Massey said.
That way, the city can take care of any potential problems now without having to tear up the sidewalk later.
“It’s a little more work than what we anticipated,” Crump told Sullivan.
Massey said he expects that project to be complete “within the next month or so” — depending on the weather and the contractor.
A lot of the work is being performed by city employees, but Massey said the curbing and concrete work will be done by a contractor.
Last month, Massey presented to the council a concept that shows a space for a restaurant on the end near the parking lot, with space for an outdoor patio, as well as two other storefronts on the west side of the building.
Massey said it has been difficult to find a single potential tenant to occupy the 10,000 square-foot space, so the city asked the architect to divide the property.
The City Council approved the $60,000 purchase of the property in February of 2018.
Massey told the RO Tuesday that there have been talks regarding possible tenants, but nothing definite.
Acting on a suggestion from members of the Planning Board, the city recently installed outlets in the parking lot.
Massey said vendors participating in the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce’s Downtown Getdown on Monday nights were using loud generators to power their food trucks.
“It’s hard to talk, stand around, eat, enjoy your meal, so we went out and put in power outlets along the landscape strip so they can plug into those and not have to use generators, which makes the event a little more (enjoyable,” Massey said.
The Chamber posted on Facebook Nov. 1 that the weekly event was over for this year, but there are plans to continue in 2022, though no start date was listed.
There are also plans to resurface and re-stripe the parking lot.
Crump said in October that the price tag for the repairs and up-fitting utilities is estimated to cost $2.5-3 million.
The city is still waiting on the state government to pass a budget, which includes $300,000 for Rockingham. That funding was proposed by Rep. Ben Moss.
WTVD-TV reported Nov. 5 that legislators were still trying to work out a deal and negotiate support to overturn a possible veto by Gov. Roy Cooper.
According to the Carolina Journal, Cooper and the General Assembly “have never agreed on a budget since he took office in 2017.”
Improvements on the parking lot started in the fall of 2019, but work came to a halt amid the double-whammy of the COVID pandemic and the county’s decision to change the sales tax allocation distribution method.
