"We may not have gotten Oprah, but it looks like we might get Roger Perry.  The well-known developer has optioned the Jack Tar Motel building downtown.

Perry’s laundry list of past projects is impressive, both for scope and how well he is able to navigate sometimes difficult waters. He developed Woodcroft in the 1980s – his last project in Durham – and what was at the time the more controversial Meadowmont that sits on the edge of Chapel Hill on N.C. 54. Meadowmont’s scope raised concerns among some Chapel Hill residents, but the development since has become the benchmark for mixed-use development in the Triangle.

And now Perry has returned to the Bull City. The developer has indicated that he has no plans to keep the Jack Tar Motel building. He is eyeing the site for a combination of office, residential, lodging and retail.
While we are often proponents of preserving our city’s history, we are on board with Perry’s plans to put something else on the site.

This is one instance in which it will benefit downtown for something new to rise."

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The Herald Sun (10/22/2011)