Future of historic Fayetteville hotel is unclear

The Hotel Prince Charles' rich past is well known in Fayetteville.

Built in 1926, it was the centerpiece of a bustling Fayetteville in its heyday with its poetic quality, artfully designed columns and rooftop lamp posts.

But it's unclear what the future holds.

The building's owner, New York developer John Chen, reportedly wants to demolish the 87-year old building, which was deemed by the city in 2010 to be unsafe for living.

He later filed for bankruptcy to prevent a forced auction.

But Fayetteville's historic properties manager, Bruce Daws, says the hotel still has value, and the city want to explore possible solutions to keep it standing and put it to use again.

"Under the law, we cannot deny demolition, but what we can do is delay it by up to 365 days in order to work out a solution, Daws said, "perhaps, to get it to change hands or come up with some other solution to flip the property."

Chen could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

A federal bankruptcy judge would have to approve demolition.