Elton Bond casts lone vote against modified permit for SAGA development

BY NICOLE BOWMAN-LAYTON

EDENTON – The Edenton Town Council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to approve a modified special use permit for a 144-unit apartment complex located near Paradise Road. The public gave both positive and negative comments about the proposed project, citing the need for affordable housing and concerns about infrastructure.

The vote was held after a public hearing during the council’s meeting at council chambers on South Broad Street, Edenton.

The council granted Edenton Holdings, LLC permission to build the Beechwood Avenue Apartments at 1311 Paradise Road, near the Chowan Rehabilitation Center, with rents expected to start at approximately $1,500 per month for a one-bedroom unit, depending on fair market value. Edenton Holdings LLC is the property owner, while SAGA is the construction company. They both have the same mailing address.

Councilman Elton Bond cast the sole dissenting vote on all three required findings and the final approval. Bond, who represents the 4th Ward, near where the complex will be located, said his constituents prefer single-family homes and are concerned about crime. The complex is technically in the 3rd Ward, currently represented by Councilmember Aaron Coston.

“The people in my ward that’s living on Paradise Road and Morris Circle, they don’t want it,” Bond said. “They’re living in a friendly, safe environment, and they don’t want to bring crime into their neighborhood.”

The project, developed by SAGA Construction of Kill Devil Hills, represents a significant redesign of an apartment complex originally approved in 2008. Over $2.5 million in infrastructure – including roads, utilities and a sewer lift station – has already been installed on the 23.75-acre property, according to company spokespeople who attended the public hearing.

Developer Responds to Earlier Concerns

Debbie Gabbert and Erin Dunigan of Saga Construction presented updated plans that addressed concerns raised when the council tabled the application in April.

The new design features 12 buildings with 12 units each, creating what they called “a more human-scale development” with pedestrian pathways and green spaces. The original plan called for six larger buildings with 24 units each.

Saga also worked with an architecture firm familiar with Edenton’s aesthetic to create a “classicized vernacular more consistent with Edenton’s historic style”.

They emphasized that all SAGA properties are market-rate housing, not subsidized or Section 8 housing. They cited the company’s nearly 100% occupancy rates at similar developments on the Outer Banks, including a 144-unit complex under construction in Elizabeth City (located on Ehrinhaus Street, between Popeye’s and Wawa) that already has an interest list of more than 75 potential tenants.

“We have to make the numbers work,” Gabbert said when asked about keeping rents at market rates. “Our strategy would not be just drop it as low as we need to to get it rented.”

Public Comment Divided

Five residents spoke during the public hearing, with opinions split on the project’s merits.

Dawson Tyler with Down East Preservation, who has worked with SAGA on the Hotel Hinton project, praised the company’s willingness to adapt. “These are places that workers, restaurants, restaurateurs, young professionals are living, thriving and enjoying themselves with pools and nice amenities.”

Chess Chesson, director of Main Street Edenton, said the apartments address a critical housing shortage. He noted that the cheapest rental currently available in Edenton costs $1,800 per month, and some Peanut Drive employees are paying $1,300 monthly to live in an extended-stay hotel.

“We have zero multi-family units,” Chesson said. “Companies moving here are being held back by the pipeline for housing.”

JD Grant raised questions about whether there would be a homeowners association to manage amenities like the pool and clubhouse, and asked about accessibility features such as elevators in the multi-story buildings. He also sought clarification on whether traffic patterns had been finalized for the development. Gooden noted that they would be worked on as the project’s details are finalized between the town and SAGA.

Ralph Casbarro questioned whether the town’s electrical infrastructure could handle 144 additional units. He noted that he has power outages at his home regularly.

“Our power grid is already overtaxed,” he said, noting recent storm-related power failures damaged his HVAC system.

Leslee Casbarro asked whether environmental and traffic studies had been updated since 2008, and questioned enforcement mechanisms if units become short-term rentals.

Local historian and resident Susan Inglis supported the project but urged the council to ensure proper stormwater management and push the N.C. Department of Transportation for pedestrian crosswalks on Virginia Road. She also noted that the property was once the Beechwood Plantation and had a grove of beech trees in that area. She suggested that such trees be planted on the site.

Conditions and Oversight

The council approved the project with 12 conditions, modified from the original 2008 approval. Key requirements include:

• Installing all utilities, drainage and stormwater systems to town standards
• Providing sidewalks on one side of the development’s internal roads
• Installing temporary lighting for security within 180 days of receiving a building permit
• Submitting traffic impact studies after Phase 1 and Phase 2 completion

At Councilman Aaron Coston’s request, the council modified one condition to require annual progress reports instead of a three-year review period.

Town Manager Corey Gooden explained that detailed engineering plans must still pass review by the town’s Technical Review Committee, which includes representatives from police, fire, public works, water/sewer, electric and the N.C. Department of Transportation.

“If they’re not satisfied, we can’t let (the project) go forward,” Gooden said.

The permit includes a 24-month vesting period, with a possible 12-month extension.

Assistant Town Manager Dewayne Whealton said the project aligns with the Edenton-Chowan Land Use Plan’s goals to encourage population growth, promote economic development and foster housing choice for retirees, young professionals and millennials.

The council received three letters of support from the Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce, the Edenton-Chowan Partnership chair and the partnership’s economic developer, Gooden said.

Before the final vote, Mayor Hackney High responded to a question raised by Leslee Casbarro and asked council members to declare any financial interest in the project, Edenton Holdings LLC or SAGA Construction. None did.

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Updates at 5:43 p.m. Oct. 15, 2025, to correctly identify which ward the Beechwood Avenue Apartments will be located. Also attempted to clarify that SAGA staff estimated that the cost of a one-bedroom apartment would be about $1,500 per month or fair-market value.