September 10, 2023 City Buys Coast Guard Property
Around Our Town with Gene Merritt
Blog # 23
September 6, 2023The City of Wilmington has recently purchased the former Coast Guard Dock property in front of the Federal Building. The purchase price was 1.2 million dollars. Attached in this blog is the story regarding this sale written by Gareth McGrath and published in the USA Today Network. There was some controversy on the Wilmington City Council regarding the price paid for the property. Some of the Councilmembers thought the government should have given us the land. That would have been nice, but, in these days and times, not realistic.
The purchase price is, in my view, a total bargain. The land is worth much more than the purchase price. I agree with Mayor Saffo that the site is a jewel on the river.
I’m excited about the City’s plans to redevelop the site as an urban waterfront park. Check out the video included with this blog. The plans are very impressive and could be of great benefit.
This is the area that will be renovated into an urban park.
The city of Wilmington is buying the Coast Guard's downtown riverfront property. Here's why:
The old downtown Coast Guard property will be integrated into Riverfront Park and Wilmington's Riverwalk
Gareth McGrath
USA TODAY NETWORKThree years after the USCG Cutter Diligence departed the Port City for the final time, Wilmington has agreed to purchase the cutter's former downtown riverfront berth.
The 1.6 acre property, sandwiched between the city's existing Riverfront Park and the Hotel Ballast's parking lot, will be rehabbed and integrated into Wilmington's 1.75-mile-long Riverwalk, which runs along the Cape Fear River between the Isabel Holmes and Memorial bridges.
The city's move, however, hasn't been without controversy.
What exactly is the city purchasing?
City council last month approved buying the parcel at 201 N. Water St. from the Coast Guard.
Parts of the site have been operated as a park by Wilmington for a long time through a long-term agreement with the federal agency. The outright purchase of the property will allow the city to do more with the land, including making improvements to the bulkheads and extending the Riverwalk through it.
The purchase price is $1.2 million, with another $884,000 earmarked for site improvements.
According to comments before council by Kara Spencer, assistant to the city manager for legislative affairs, the Coast Guard initially wanted $1.86 million for the land. With help from U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., the city was able to negotiate that number down by a third.
Why is the city paying for surplus Coast Guard property?
That was the question posed by Councilman Kevin Spears, who noted that the initial talks over the land involved the Coast Guard giving it to the city for a nominal $1.
While he said he supported the city taking ownership of the property, Spears said $1.2 million was too steep, especially considering the city's recent buying spree downtown that's included a bunch of parcels at the north end of North Third Street near the start of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and last month's $68 million purchase of the former PPD building.
“It’s really starting to look like Monopoly downtown," Spears said. "When are we going to stop?"
Mayor Bill Saffo said the Coast Guard leadership had talked about donating the property to the city when talks first started, but federal rules that require the government to get fair-market value for surplus property wouldn't allow that.
But even at the higher price, the mayor said the property was a downtown jewel that deserved to be in the public's hands.
“This is a very important property that does tie in and finish the rest of the waterfront park there and something that we’ve been talking about for a number of years, and I think it will be something that we’ll be very proud of," Saffo said. "This is a public benefit for all the citizens, not just those who visit here, but those who live here, too."
The final council vote was 6 to 1, with Spears the lone dissenter.
Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on Twitter.