Downtown Morganton parking changes coming while Bella Vino building awaits tenant
Parking in downtown Morganton is no easy situation to tackle, as opinions about what should be done seem to be 50/50, but the Morganton Main Street office plans to bring recommendations to city council in August.
The recommendations are still in development; however, Main Street Manager Makenzie McGinnis did say the office is looking into parking management systems that would utilize technology to improve record keeping and eliminate the old-fashioned method of chalking tires.
Morganton’s Main Street office sent out a parking survey to downtown business owners and property owners and plans to bring their findings to the city council in August.
Main Street emailed a seven-question survey in April to downtown business owners, property owners, and residents, asking for constructive feedback on the parking situation downtown. The survey offered two opposing proposals: increasing fines to $10 and the vehicle booted after five unpaid tickets, or free parking. Currently, parking tickets are around $5 and often go unpaid.
McGinnis said the survey response has been about 50/50.
In The Paper’s survey, which was open to the public, a total of 325 individuals responded. Almost half of the respondents (48.61%) were avid downtown visitors, and the next largest group of respondents (13.62%) identified themselves as downtown employees.
More than half of respondents (56.13%) supported eliminating parking fees, while 33.23% were opposed. Of the respondents 10.4% were neutral.
BELLA VINO BUILDING
As for the old Bella Vino building, at 112 W. Union St., Director of Cultural and Creative Development Sharon Jablonski said she is expecting two submittals for a family-oriented restaurant to fill the space.
Morganton’s former Bella Vino location sits vacant at 112 W. Union St. The city, which owns the building, is still looking for a new family-friendly restaurant to fill the space.
Jablonski said she knew that finding a new business would not be a quick process as the city is looking for a business that offers moderate prices and will use all of the building’s available square footage. According to property records, the total leasable area is 7,080 square feet.
“Basically, I’m looking for another Yianni’s,” Jablonski said.
The building has been vacant since late January, when Bella Vino moved out. Owner Emmanual Manolakas and the city were in years-long litigation centered on his 2023 eviction notice.
Madison Lipe is the municipal reporter for The Paper. She can be reached at 828-445-8595 or madison@thepaper.media.
