BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Economic Development Authority (EDA) moved closer to owning nearly all of a stretch of dilapidated properties along Main Street in Inez. At its April 9 meeting, the EDA voted to buy one building and accept ownership of eight properties acquired by the fiscal court.
The EDA approved the purchase of the building at 55 East Main Street for its appraised value of $49,500. The property, owned by Eden Land Company, sits beside the old Inez Deposit Bank building.
Before the vote, board members entered a closed session with Chairman James Ayers citing “land acquisition” as the legal basis. The law allows private meetings for “deliberations on the future acquisition or sale of real property by a public agency, but only when publicity would be likely to affect the value of a specific piece of property to be acquired for public use or sold by a public agency.”
After emerging from the private session, the board voted unanimously to proceed with the purchase.
The board also discussed plans to assume ownership of eight properties acquired by the Martin County Fiscal Court in 2024. These properties stretch from the vacant lot beside Leonard Stayton’s law office to the boundary at People’s Bank.
Carolea Mills, EDA director and Martin County Deputy Judge/Executive, reaffirmed a statement she originally made during an EDA meeting July 10, 2024. She said Martin County Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty and the fiscal court purchased the properties with the intent of transferring them to the EDA for downtown revitalization.
Three of the eight properties include two-story commercial buildings. Mills explained that the county’s initial vision involved restoring those buildings for mixed-use: business space on the first floor with housing above. Last year, she said the county applied for a $10,000 grant to an architecture to create a schematic of the county’s “vision for Inez.”
During last week’s meeting, Mills clarified that the fiscal court would continue to insure the Main Street properties.
“It would just be deeded to the Economic Development Authority so that we could get grants,” she said.
Mills identified the building at 21 East Main Street as structurally unsound and in need of demolition.
“That’s really what’s spurring this,” she said. “We really need to tear that building down. It is not safe … It’s very compromised.”
Demolition estimates for the 1949 structure currently hover around $42,000.
Mills also addressed the presence of land surveyors seen around town last week. She noted that the fiscal court hired Westek Engineering to survey all downtown Inez properties to establish markers. The director expects Westek to complete the work within a month.
Mills further reported that three potential tenants toured the EDA’s industrial spec building on Honey Branch over the past month.
“We would like to get somebody in it and will continue to show it to everybody we can,” she said.
With that, the meeting concluded. Ayers announced that the EDA will meet again on May 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the Martin County Government Center.