EURE – One step away.

That’s how close the Gates County ABC Board is to clearing the final hurdle to build its new store at 29 US 158 South (across from Tarheel BBQ).

The last hurdle to clear comes on Wednesday in Raleigh during the regular monthly meeting of the North Carolina ABC Commission. That government entity will have the final say on the plans to construct the new Gates County store, according to Agnes Stevens, Public Affairs Director for the NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

The state’s involvement in this project has been ongoing since Feb. 19. Documentation provided to this newspaper by the North Carolina ABC Commission lists that date where the Gates County ABC Board requested approval from the state to build and operate an ABC Store at the aforementioned address.

NC ABC Commission investigators Edwin Strickland and Melissa Miller met with Gates County ABC Board Chairman G.P. Kittrell Jr. and General Manager Mark Goodman on March 10 and surveyed the area where the new store is proposed to be constructed.

Performing due diligence, the state investigators determined that the new site, one acre in size, was purchased by the Gates County ABC Board on Feb. 1 of last year from James Earl Taylor of Eure at a cost of $30,000.

That property is located nearly eight miles away from the nearest public school; 1.8 miles from the nearest church, and 7.7 miles from the nearest ABC Store (in Winton, one operated by the Hertford County ABC Board).

Later in March, Strickland spoke with Valerie Tripp of Gates County Planning and Development Services and confirmed that the property for the new store was already zoned commercial, thus making it acceptable to operate a retail outlet.

According to the Gates County ABC Board, the new store will encompass 1,970 square feet and will be built similar to the county’s other ABC retail outlet in Corapeake. The new store will be a bit smaller than the one in Corapeake, thus cheaper to construct because it will contain less storage space. The Eure store proposes to have 1,396 square feet of retail and 574 square feet of storage space.

The new store will replace a previous store located less than one-half mile south. The old store closed on Aug. 25, 2012 and was torn down to make way for the widening project on US 13/158. NCDOT offered $206,000 to the Gates County ABC Board for the property.