EDITORIAL: Festival Park Plaza finds its way out of recession

Aug. 01--Fayetteville's white elephant is starting to green up.It may still be years before the pitiful pachyderm becomes a cash cow. But Festival Park Plaza's balance sheet looks better than ever.

That's because the city's under-performing office building will soon be more than 90 percent occupied.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is taking over the building's third floor for its new customer-service center. By fall, 107 full-time employees will work there.

The 41,000-square-foot, three-story office building on Ray Avenue opened in 2007. It was originally built and owned by a Raleigh developer, with significant support from the city. But keeping tenants in it proved a near-impossible task, especially after recession intervened. In 2011, the city took over the property but had equally dismal luck keeping it filled. More recently, the city has moved some staff into first-floor office space.

The arrival of Blue Cross brings some stability. The health-insurance company has signed a 5-year lease that will bring the city more than $1 million.

Fayetteville still wants to sell the building. It should. Stable tenants will make it easier.

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