An Ohio couple has big plans for the former Clarendon Inn in Wilmington.
 
Emily McKibbin, a broker with Wilmington-based Live Oak Real Estate, said Thursday that Troy and Carla Reed of Columbus purchased the bank-owned hotel for $760,000.

McKibbin represented the Reeds during the Feb. 28 transaction to purchase the nine-room Clarendon Inn at 117 S. Second St. Hansen Matthews, partner and principal broker of Maus Warwick Matthew & Company, represented the seller First Federal bank, which is now called South State Bank.

Carla Reed said the couple had been looking for a small hotel to own and manage for 1 ½ years. After discovering the Clarendon Inn online, the couple scheduled an appointment to view the structure in person.

“We fell in love,” Carla Reed said about visiting the inn. “There was good security, a good parking lot and the space was beautiful.”

The couple purchased the hotel and renamed it Hotel Riverwalk.

Officials hope to open the inn this summer.

Carla Reed said while she and her husband do not have hospitality backgrounds, the couple has frequented a number of hotels and inns to know what they, and other professionals, want in a night’s stay away from home.   

“My husband is an attorney with his own law firm, and I worked in corporate retail,” Carla Reed said. “I’ve always traveled for business … so I have a good idea about what could work well.”

The two have not wasted anytime getting acquainted with their new venture.

Carla Reed said the couple was in town this week meeting with contractors.

“We’re redoing the whole property,” she said.

Plans call for most of the rooms’ queen-sized beds to be replaced with king-sized beds. Carla Reed added that the rooms would also be carpeted and repainted, and the lobby area will be completely overhauled with new furniture and designed to be more spacious for guests.

The guest rooms will include new flat-screen TVs, iPod docking sations and wifi Internet access, Carla Reed said. She added the existing microwaves, refrigerators and coffee makers will be replaced in each room.

It was ultimately the inn’s location that truly won the couple over, she said, adding that the influx of investment and growth around the downtown Wilmington area was encouraging and important.

“It had to be in the right location,” Carla Reed said. “The location was everything and we felt it was in a great location for business.”

Eventually, Carla Reed said she wants the hotel to cater to all people who visit Wilmington, whether it’s for business or pleasure. She also hopes Hotel Riverwalk will appeal to film crews and actors visiting the area on business.  

“We want to cater to not just businesses or tourists on the weekend, but to events,” she said. “People will be able to rent out our hotel for wedding parties or for business meetings … we welcome all.”

Carla Reed said the family is excited about becoming residents of Wilmington.

“I have a son that's graduating from high school in Columbus and will be starting college in the fall, and another son that will be attending high school once we move to Wilmington,” she said. “We are extremely excited to come to Wilmington, N.C.”