WILMINGTON — The Wilmington Planning Commission went against staff’s recommendation Wednesday as they voted to approve of a plan to rezone a warehouse with historical significance, along with several surrounding properties, without any conditions protecting the building from demolition.
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Patrick Carroll, who has owned the warehouse at 1121 S. Front St. for more than 30 years, has been trying to rezone it and 10 surrounding parcels from the current light industrial and mixed residential districts to urban mixed use since 2020.
Carroll does not have a specific project tied to the rezoning, though has been adamant the warehouse will remain. However, the Wilmington City Council’s hang-ups over the lack of protections on the building, now a multi-use space with offices, has stalled the process.
The brick building located at the corner of S. Front and Marstellar streets was built in 1913 as a manufacturing plant for the Sol Bear Winery and is a contributing structure to the National Register Historic District since its expansion in 2003. It was also frequently used for production of “One Tree Hill,” the beloved teen television show that filmed in Wilmington in the 2000s (and has been approved for a reboot in the last week).
Despite the building’s significance to Wilmington, it is not under a preservation easement with the Historic Wilmington Foundation, nor does it have landmark status or reside in the city’s historical district. These designations come with more red tape and a reduction in property taxes, and allow the Wilmington Historic Foundation to leverage funding for restoration and preservation projects.
Carroll has been resistant to relinquish control of the property to a third-party’s rules. Without these designations, he has no hurdles to aesthetic changes and additions.
He could, in theory, also demolish the building, though he has maintained he has no intention of ever doing so. Carroll noted the unlikely chance anyone would demolish it because of the building’s good structural integrity and the limited development options beyond the current use. He said a developer would not be able to construct a higher building nor one that would be incredibly different from the current offering.
Both in 2020 and now, Carroll has submitted his property for a general rezoning, meaning council could not mandate conditions — like a demolition prohibition — as part of its rezoning agreement. Despite this, city staff and the planning commission recommended approval in 2020, noting Carroll’s commitment to maintaining the building and the benefits of an urban mixed use zoning outweighed the chance of future demolition.
City council, namely former member Kevin O’Grady, along with current members Kevin Spears and Charlie Rivenbark thought otherwise, noting their discomfort with the lack of preservation on the building over the course of two September 2020 meetings. O’Grady went further in saying he wanted to see preservation extend into aesthetic features as well.
The council member noted that while they believed Carroll was truthful in his assertions to preserve the building and its character, there were not the same assurances another property owner would do the same if Carroll ever chose to sell the property.
Ultimately, Carroll agreed to resubmit his request as a conditional rezoning. However, he withdrew the application when the conditions became “much more than not demolishing the building,” he told the planning commission Wednesday.
He also described council’s push for preservation four years ago as odd timing considering the lack of discussion over the building before the rezoning request.
“What was everybody doing 35 years ago?” Carroll questioned on Thursday. “I was restoring this building. We’ve taken great care of it since then.”
Staff noted there appears to be little change from the building’s original appearance, aside from the 3,000-square-feet Carroll added on.
“The City of Wilmington, I don’t know, maybe they didn’t know it was there — nobody cared about the building,” Carroll said. “The Wilmington Historical Foundation, my understanding was formed in the early ‘60s — where were they?”
Carroll clarified though the Historic Wilmington Foundation never reached out, he also did not request assistance from them.
Still, some planning commissioners were hesitant to move forward without any “guardrails.” Staff recommended denial of the request in line with council’s uneasiness over preservation, even though they are supportive of the move to the UMX district.
“This is the exact kind of site where conditional zoning is absolutely critical,” Wilmington Planning Commissioner Danny Adams said, noting several questions that could not be answered about a potential project’s design and scale.
Chair Jack Pollock said he has “never been a fan” of general rezonings, though ultimately voted to recommend the rezoning when it was voted on. Adams was the only dissenter.
Though the preservation of the building caused some hand-wringing, staff and the commission were like-minded on rezoning the entire property as urban mixed use district; Commissioner Richard Collier noted he was surprised it wasn’t put under UMX when the district was created in 2013.
The properties currently under the light industrial zoning could be used for metal coating, welding panels and heavy equipment sales, though Matt Nichols, the attorney representing Carroll, said no one would want to see those developed there.
UMX paves the way for commercial, office and residential use.
Helen Johnson, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, agreed with Nichols’ assessment in her comments to the commission Wednesday.
“All we’re asking is to try to maintain as close to being family-oriented as possible,” Johnson said. “I don’t understand the urban mixed use. I do know that it’s OK to have different businesses because we have [Habitat for Humanity], which has a part of it in our neighborhood, but industrial, we would rather not have that if possible.”
A handful of other residents spoke on Wednesday, all in favor of Carroll’s rezoning request.
Planning commissioner Ace Cofer said UMX is more favorable and thought it fit well into the SouthSide Small Area Plan. The plan, adopted in 2009, provides a vision for the Lake Forest, The Bottom, and Dry Pond neighborhoods; Carroll’s parcels reside in the latter. Along the S. Front Street corridor, the plan calls for commercial/retail and office uses on the lower floors, with office and/or residential uses on the upper floors.
A few commissioners pointed out it also notes parcels on the southern side of Marstellar Street should remain residential; Carroll explained he thought it was easier to put his entire property under one zoning. Residential uses can still be accommodated under UMX.
Nichols said Carroll would like to eventually “make better use” of the property with neighborhood commercial and residential elements.
The planning commission passed the rezoning with their recommendation in a 6-1 vote, Adams dissenting. It now goes to the Wilmington City Council for final approval.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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