By Diane Young

In October 2022, the city of Salisbury issued a request for proposals (RFP) to find a qualified developer to purchase and renovate The Plaza, one of the most iconic properties in Downtown Salisbury. The city is now in the process of working through the details of making this selection, a selection that must be vetted and studied closely before the property returns to the private sector.

The Plaza was locally known as The Wallace Building when Anne and Ralph Ketner purchased it in the late 1980s. Prior to their purchase it had fallen into disrepair due to decades of neglect and lack of maintenance. The Ketners entered into a public/private partnership with the city of Salisbury, with the Ketners funding a vast majority of the cost of renovation. The plan was that the Ketners would continue to own the property post-renovation, but at the 11th hour, they came to a city council meeting and announced they were donating the property to the city. The city now wishes to return this property to the private sector and the RFP process initiated in October of 2022 has resulted in more than one proposal.

As a former downtown director, I have sat in meetings in other communities where this scenario was unfolding, listening to elected officials asking questions of city staff regarding proposals for a downtown property development. There is typically a scoring matrix used, a way of objectively evaluating the worthiness of one proposal against another. This matrix provides a score for each criterion being considered, which often includes the planned use, acquisition cost, amount that will be invested in redevelopment, track record of developer on similar projects, and the developer’s history of maintaining their properties over time.

It is these last two criteria that I contend are just as, or possibly more important, than any of the rest.

The Plaza is a stellar property situated on our “Trade and Tryon” of Downtown Salisbury. While it does not shine quite as brightly as it did when construction was completed in the 1980s, it is a far cry from the white elephant that overshadowed our downtown leading up to the Ketners’ resurrection. If put in the right hands moving forward, The Plaza will be given a new life deserving of this pivotal property, and more importantly, will be protected through proper maintenance and upkeep that will keep it from deteriorating into a white elephant on our most prominent corner. On the other hand, if a developer is selected who has shown through their track record of owning commercial property that they do not value property upkeep and maintenance, often putting the sole burden of this responsibility on their tenants which in the end is a practice of neglect, The Plaza may shine brighter for a few years, but that shine will quickly fade and our next generation of downtown stakeholders will be faced, yet again, with resurrecting a massive white elephant. How many times should we allow this property to suffer at the hands of an irresponsible property owner?

This is a decision that our elected officials should not take lightly. They have the responsibility to vet the developer carefully, with a thorough analysis of their track record for completing other rehabilitation projects along with their history regarding maintaining their existing property inventory. If a developer has no track record of similar projects and/or has been negligent in properly maintaining their property inventory, then there is no basis for our elected officials to entrust them with ownership of one of the most significant properties in Downtown Salisbury. At least two of the proposals are from local developers, and when it comes to property maintenance there is no hiding years of neglect, you can walk down the street and quickly size- up their diligence regarding maintenance. Once city council makes their selection it will be evident to the entire community as to whether the right decision was made. All you have to do is walk through downtown and look at the existing building stock of the developer who was rewarded by our city with ownership of The Plaza. Let’s pray our elected officials get this right, those of us who have made large investments in rehabilitation and upkeep of our properties are counting on it. It would be a slap in the face if they let us down.