After less than a year in business, the Black Lotus Tattoo parlor on Hillsborough Street is no longer in operation. The tattoo parlor, which entered the scene competing with several established parlors on Hillsborough Street, closed in mid-August.

Now that the business is shut down, the question remains of what type of business will open up on the 7,500-square-foot property. According to Kay Letterman, the owner of the property, several businesses have already expressed interest.

“I’ve gotten interest from an ice cream shop, tobacco store, an Italian restaurant and another tattoo parlor,” Letterman said.

Despite the failure of the most recent business at this location, the new offers have continued to come to Letterman for ventures eager to occupy the valuable real estate that would cater to NC State.

“The ice cream shop and tattoo parlor have showed the most interest,” Letterman said.

The property is in a prime location for students at NC State as well as the surrounding neighborhood behind Hillsborough Street. It is also one of the few locations on Hillsborough Street to offer ample parking around the vicinity.

Although the property has some alluring features, it falls behind in style and curb appeal compared to other areas of Hillsborough Street. Letterman plans to combat this by renovating the building and dividing it up to accommodate several different businesses.

“By the time construction is finished, there will be room for three new businesses,” Letterman said.

With smaller spaces, the property will hold more businesses and cut the risk of maintaining a larger property as a new business; a problem that Black Lotus faced by having a large space for a type of business that tends to be in more compact areas.

With possible renovation on the way, Hillsborough Street could see new businesses soon. The NC State community will decide if it becomes a part of campus, or just another short-lived venture on the ever-shifting turf that is a college neighborhood.