Wilmington City Council votes to begin bid process for former WAVE Transit facility, donates property for grocery store in food desert

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The Wilmington City Council met on July 19 to discuss donating property for a grocery store, selling a former WAVE building, a grant application from Wilmington Housing Authority and potential rezonings.

Donation of property for grocery store

The Wilmington City Council unanimously voted to pass a resolution to donate property near the intersection of Hall and N. 10th streets to New Hanover County for a grocery store.

According to material complied by city staff, the county is collaborating with the Northside Food Cooperative to design and build the store.

The store, which would be located on a 2.584-acre lot at 905 N. 10th Street, will be constructed by the county and then owned and operated by the cooperative.

“The requested site is ideal for this project as it is located within a USDA designated food desert and a full-service grocery store,” a letter from County Manager Chris Coudriet to City Manager Tony Caudle states. “It will help satisfy a critical need in the community by offering Northside residents a convenient and accessible location to access fresh, healthy food.”

Rezoning request for residential development on S. 17th St.

The Wilmington City Council looked over a developer’s request to rezone a 50-acre lot near the 17th Street-Independence Blvd. intersection for a residential development.

The lot is located at 3152. S. 17th Street near the Pointe at Barclay.

According to material prepared by city staff, the new development would consist of more than 550 residential units, including homes, duplexes and apartments.

Plans call for 170 single-dwelling homes, seven duplexes and 96 townhomes. An apartment complex consisting of 92 one-bedroom units, 179-two-bedroom units and 19 three-bedroom units also is planned.

Driveway connections would be built to S. 17 Street, Independence Blvd. and Gallery Park Drive.

The city’s planning commission voted 6-0 in favor of recommending the approval of the rezoning request.

The applicant asked to extend the rezoning request to be voted on at the Aug. 2 meeting.

Resolution in support of WHA grant application

Council members unanimously approved a resolution supporting the Wilmington Housing Authority’s application for a $3 million stated-funded grant “for construction associated with the remediation of mold and mildew problems in WHA owned units.”

According to information from city staff, the WHA is experiencing significant mold issues in more than 100 units, affecting more than 300 people.

The city and New Hanover County have authorized a loan of up to $3.3 million to WHA to be used toward mold remediation.

WAVE transit building property on Castle Street

City Council is moving forward with selling the former site of a WAVE Transit facility.

Council members voted 5-1 in favor of selling the 1.5-acre property located at 1110 Castle St. in a sealed bid process.

The site previously served as WAVE Transit’s operations and maintenance facility before being released back to the city in June 2015 when WAVE left the property.

The city also plans to have the structures and fuel tank on the site demolished.

City officials say the property sustained major damage during Hurricane Florence in 2018 and that environmental studies of the site found lead, asbestos, mold, and soil contamination.

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