Note, this was reported as a developing story. You can find the latest update here: New Hanover County says "no additional information" on strip club acquisition, property owners blindsided
At last night’s New Hanover County Board of Commissioners meeting, the county quickly and quietly approved $2.36 million dollars to use eminent domain to purchase the Cheetah strip club located directly next to the government center.
The resolution was not included on the meeting agenda. County Manager Chris Coudriet added the motion in the final minutes of the meeting. He identified the land only by its county tax parcel ID number — R04916-003-003-000 — and did not mention the property street address or business name.
Beyond saying the land would be for a “public use,” Coudriet gave no explanation. County commissioners unanimously approved the resolution and a budget amendment without discussion.
The county has now engaged attorneys from Ward and Smith, P.A. to notify the property owners of the order of condemnation.
Eminent domain allows the government to force a sale of property, but property owners can contest the sale price in court. The legal procedure, authorized by state statute, allows a wide range of public uses as justification for eminent domain, including road right-of-way, parking, public facilities, and other uses.
Not a new issue
The Cheetah Premier Gentleman's Club of Wilmington, the latest of several strip clubs operating at 143 S. College Rd. under various names, is owned by New Hanover Golf & Travel, LLC, which purchased the club in early 2011 for $1.45 million.
The strip club, in its various iterations, has been a thorn in the county's side for some time, in large part because of the optics. For years, the county's government center was located in a former shopping mall attached to a bowling alley and near the strip club — a location some county leaders felt was not befitting the center of county government, as several officials have told WHQR on background.
The government center redevelopment actually brought the county's new headquarters physically closer to the strip club. Currently, only a wooden fence partially obscures the Cheetah sign from view of the government center's main entrance.
State Treasurer Dale Folwell mocked the situation in September when criticizing the county's redevelopment efforts during a meeting of the Local Government Commission.
