In a not-quite-unanimous vote, the Wilmington City Council took its first step to approve an agreement to redevelop the Water Street public parking deck by demolishing the structure and replacing it with a mixed-use building that will feature commercial and retail space, residential units and a new parking area.
The resolution to enter the agreement with East-West Partners Management of Chapel Hill came on a 6-1 vote by the council, with member Paul Lawler being the only dissenting vote. Overall, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo and downtown developers praised the project and the effort by staff to develop the plan.
The proposed project at the corner of Grace and North Water streets would feature a 13-story, 132-foot building with 170 residential units, along with 25,633 square feet of commercial space and 409 city-owned parking spaces. It will maintain access to Bijou Park, the narrow alley, green space between Nutt Street and North Front Street, and include a water feature to decorate an outdoor stair space. The city also funds $2 million to open Chestnut Street, connecting it with Water Street, and make improvements to Grace Street, including sidewalk upgrades.
The preliminary project cost estimates came to a total of $75.6 million, with the developer contributing $55.8 million of the costs, and the city picking up the remaining 26 percent of costs at $19.8 million, with a 5 percent cap in cost increases. Overall, the property was valued at $2.15 million, and building a new parking deck on the property would cost approximately $12 million.
The city allocated approximately $15.6 million to the project, with Caudle noting there is already $5.9 million in the project fund. Financing the project would require $0.01 on the existing property tax base, though the proposal doesn’t specify how the city council would fund the project.
Ed Wolverton, president of Wilmington Downtown Inc., spoke in favor of the project, noting that the construction phase will generate more than 500 jobs, with 130 permanent jobs following. It would also generate $625,000 in new annual revenue generated by the property taxes.
“This project will generate positive economic benefits for the short term and the long term,” he said.
One city resident raised concerns, citing his experience as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and working with projects along that city’s waterfront. Ed Ablard said the project could end up costing the city more than $20 million, leaving it stuck with a “hole” by the riverfront. Caldwell told the council that city staff had contracted engineers to study property and believed the site could be safely constructed. The proposal included $169,000 of costs for relocation of utilities in the area.
Both Saffo and council member Charlie Rivenbark praised the work and “due diligence” of the staff in researching the deal.
“I’ve never seen as much time and planning go into a project,” Rivenbark said. “What a great replacement to take us back to the good times.”
Lawler also praised the work of staff, but voted against the project on concerns of the costs to the city, which he said could leave taxpayers responsible for a total bill of $24 million without a plan from the council on how to pay for it. Additionally, Lawler said the plan provided favorable conditions to the developer that weren’t offered with other city projects.
“There are plenty of needs in Wilmington, and there are better uses for this money than investing in this project,” Lawler said, adding that the money could be used for more police and to augment the city’s $8 million transportation budget to include more roads and sidewalks. “I believe those would be better uses of the taxpayer dollar.” Lawler’s vote against the second-reading of the resolution means the city council will have to vote on the proposal again on July 19.
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