April 9, 2023 - Around Our Town with Gene Merritt
Around Our Town with Gene Merritt
News and Views from the Port City of Wilmington, NC
April 9, 2023
Welcome to Around Our Town with Gene Merritt. This is my first issue and I appreciate your attention to my blog. The purpose of the blog is to promote the advancement of the Wilmington area as a great place to live, work, and play. In doing so, I will accentuate the positive but also deal with some negative aspects. By that, I mean actions and proposals that are not in the best interest of our great city. I hope to publish this blog every Sunday. Forgive me if I miss a few from time to time, but I will try hard.
You, as the reader, will have the opportunity to comment on what I discuss in any issue. There is always an interesting or important outside point of view to consider. That does not necessarily mean I will agree with your position, but I want to know your opinion. “Listen and Learn” is a good mantra.
Today I would like to talk about Project Grace. I’m certain you are tired of hearing about this proposed urban redevelopment project and wondering if it will ever happen, and if so, in what form.
New Hanover County proposed, some time ago, to renovate the old Belk Beery building, at Second and Chestnut Streets, into new homes for the main library and our fine museum. The county identified a local real estate developer willing to coordinate the project. The county would sell the old building, as well as land at Second and Grace Streets to that developer. The developer would then develop a mixed-use project as well as complete renovations of the Belk building for the county, which would maintain ownership.
Due to several issues, the developer backed out of the deal.
It doesn’t seem reasonable to house the library and museum in the same building. They have separate missions. Yes, both are both education-oriented, but each has clearly separate goals and objectives. And both need to be free to program their own space for future needs.
There may be a way to do this deal. I suggest the following scenario:
1. Build a new library on the vacant land beside the current building. It can be built to high standards and provide the library staff with exactly what they need. A four or five-level building should take care of their current and future needs. A beautiful roof garden would add a lot of class to the project.
Once that building is finished, the library can move in, losing very few days of Operation, a sharp contrast with the current plans.
2. When the new library is finished, the county can then begin work on adaptive use of the building to accommodate the museum’s needs. A major renovation of the Chestnut Street façade to create an open feeling—to be able to easily see into the building and the activity inside—is a must.
3. Sell the building and open land on Grace Street to a private developer to create a new mixed-use project, primarily focused on apartments. This would be a premiere downtown location for apartments. This project would create new tax base, construction and permanent jobs, and parking fees for the county-owned garage in that block.
The library and museum projects will provide construction and permanent jobs.
I believe this approach would save money as compared to the current plans.
Both the library, the museum, and the new apartments/commercial space would use the current parking garage. This should guarantee the garage’s long-term success and provide enough income to pay operational and maintenance expenses without needed support from the county’s annual budget.
Back to reality, it has just been announced that a local developer has shown strong interest in developing Project Grace. The county has no written agreement to my knowledge, with that developer.
I encourage the county and its developer of choice to consider my idea.
In any event, I support Project Grace. It will provide strong outcomes including jobs, tax base, and social upgrades for the community. It should be a major downtown project that will upgrade a space that needs such improvement. The library and museum will provide upgraded services and become tourist attractions.
Gene Merritt is a Wilmington real estate developer and appraiser. He has been active in public affairs for many years. He was a co-founder of DARE, Inc., now operating under the name Wilmington Downtown, Inc.
This vacant lot at the corner of 3rd and Chestnut Streets could be the location of a new library. The current garden could be replaced on the new building’s roof. A connector to the parking deck could be part of the project.
This building would be sold to a private developer. It would be demolished to make room for a new mixed-use development.
This land and building a Second and Grace streets would be sold to a private developer for a mixed-use project including business and residential uses, primarily apartments.
The current former Belk-Beery building is unattractive, in my view. In renovating the building, the three facades should be opened, granting strong visual images of the activities going on inside.
Around Our Town with Gene Merritt
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