By Cullen Lea
Intern
The Wilmington City Council convened Feb. 17 to resolve the prioritization of firms for the redevelopment of the Water Street Deck. East West Partners from Chapel Hill, N.C., were favored in a 5-2 vote with Mayor Bill Saffo and Councilman Neil Anderson voting against. The alternate developer was Cape Fear Development LLC, an extension of Cape Fear Commercial.
“Both companies provided strong proposals,” Anderson said. “However I can’t vote for the motion tonight because of unknowns like the slope of the deck and the disparities in the design. I don’t know what it’s going to look like.”
The city manager’s office recommended Cape Fear Development LLC due to its aesthetic design, preservation of open space at the foot of Chestnut Street and knowledge of the credentials of the affiliates.
“I haven’t been really happy with the process despite me introducing East West,” Councilwoman Laura Padgett said. “I do think it has been too fast, but we have reached a destination and will have to move forward with height and parking details once we begin negotiations.”
Former Wilmington Mayor Harper Peterson expressed his disapproval of the project in a previous public hearing, citing dismay over the property value, hastened report process and lack of public input. He requested a continuance to promote community participation.
Councilman Kevin O’Grady disagreed with all of Peterson’s assertions, mentioning public clarity throughout the process.
“We had the former mayor here, who was very critical of our view,” O’Grady said. “He declared that there was little public input. However we had a meeting in this room where people with differing opinions sat down and discussed this development. That helped drive this process.”
Saffo reiterated O’Grady’s statements by stressing the length of involvement with the property.
“This has been a laborious process,” Saffo said. “One thing we’ve done is made this visible to the people. The community has known about this and we’ve taken a lot of input.”
In addition to the discussion of the Water Street Deck redevelopment, citizens voiced their dismay at the proposal of Enviva LP, in collaboration with the Port of Wilmington, constructing two 172-foot tall by 175-foot wide pellet domes 200 feet away from the edge of Sunset Park. Concerns were voiced over public safety and the lowering of property values. Individuals spoke about moving the towers to a different location.
“Neighborhoods are the heart and soul of our city,” Johnnie N. Henegan said. “We are understandably upset with the location of the towers. Our quality of life and property values are of utmost importance. We hope that the council members will act with us to resolve this issue and move these towers.”
Another speaker mentioned the potential hazards of the towers due to chemical ingredients and flammability of the contents they could contain.
“Please consider moving the towers away from our neighborhood because of the fire hazard of the wood pellets,” Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer said. “The location is simply criminal. Would anyone on the council feel comfortable having these structures in their own neighborhoods?”
Each public address was met with applause from the audience, construing dissatisfaction with the domes. A motion to continue the decision of the ordinance for March 3 was agreed upon unanimously.
