Portion of Obici land leased for storage

Published 9:59 pm Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The city of Suffolk now will be making at least a modest sum of money off the Economic Development Authority-owned property at 1900 N. Main St. while it markets the property to potential developers.

The empty 25-acre parcel was the former site of Obici Hospital but has been vacant since the hospital moved to Godwin Boulevard in 2003.

The EDA voted at its meeting Wednesday to lease about two acres of the property to Inner-View for storage of construction equipment and materials. Inner-View is working on upgrading the utility system along North Main Street.

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The materials would be stored in the old hospital’s main parking lot near the street.

In response to a question from an EDA member, Economic Development Director Kevin Hughes said he did not think the arrangement would affect the department’s ability to market the site.

“We have a 90-day option to give them the boot if we need to,” he said.

The company will pay the EDA $400 per month for the lease.

In other business at the meeting, the EDA approved revised bylaws, stating that a quorum consists of five members — which had never been changed from four members after the total number of members changed in 2009 — and designating the latest edition of “Robert’s Rules of Order” as governing the proceedings of the body.

The members also met in closed session about disposing of property in Wilroy Industrial Park and discussing a prospective business or industry or the expansion of a business or industry, but the EDA took no action on the matters after the hearing reconvened in open session.