NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Amid commissioner budget discussions on Thursday, county manager Chris Coudriet confirmed progress on the Northside Food Co-op’s grocery store, planned for 10th and Post streets, has been halted at least temporarily.
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After a question about a hold on the store from Chair Bill Rivenbark, Coudriet told commissioners the co-op has “stepped back and reevaluated” its years-in-the-making plans for the grocery store.
According to a statement from the county on Friday, the Northside Food Co-op told the county in January it would like to pause work on design, permitting, and rezoning for now. The goal has been to open the store in 2026.
“They want to pause and determine what is the right business model and the right set of support services in that community, knowing that it is a possibility that another grocery store will enter the marketplace,” Coudriet said at the budget session.
The county manager was referring to a brand-name grocery store planned for former City of Wilmington property at 305, 315 and 319 Chestnut Street.
Cape Fear Holdings — an LLC of a prominent developer at Cape Fear Development, also working with New Hanover County on Project Grace — purchased the property for $1.7 million in December.
Coudriet said he understood a partnership with a grocer would come later this summer. However, an email from the county’s grants and projects analyst Jessica Berardi states the co-op grocery store was on pause due to “the nearby construction of a Publix.”
PCD asked Publix to confirm its involvement with the Chestnut Street grocery but did not hear back by press.
Commissioner LeAnn Pierce said she thought it was a “smart move” from the co-op.
“Let’s see how this plays out before they move forward — because we want to set up for success whatever that seems like, it might be a different model,” she said.
PCD reached out to Cierra Washington, the co-op’s project manager, for more details on the potential restructuring. The co-op formed in 2020 with the goal of bringing a grocery to downtown’s 35-year food desert. In urban areas, a desert occurs where 33% of the population lives more than 1 mile from a grocery store; downtown’s nearest major grocery store is the Food Lion on Oleander Drive, more than 2 miles away from the Northside.
In a statement, Washington said her team learned of the Chestnut Street grocery early this year.
“The co-op team was excited about more food coming downtown!” she wrote in an email. “And to prepare, we paused active work on the grocery building, to review our plans and data. We’re doing research to ensure that the Northside’s store will be appropriate and resilient within an evolving neighborhood grocery landscape. The co-op’s partners at New Hanover County and the New Hanover County Endowment remain supportive of the project and this period of evaluation.”
She added the co-op is planning to have community meetings on the subject soon.
A New Hanover County spokesperson said the county remains a committed partner and continues to provide support to the co-op team as they analyze the possible scenarios and determine what the next steps will be.
The county has committed funding for the grocery store since the early days of the co-op, but rising prices and other budgetary demands prevented the project from gaining traction until last year. The New Hanover Community Endowment offered to fill in the funding gap with a $6.7 million grant. The county is supporting with $2.5 million and a $1.5 million cashflow cushion to its bottom line for the first five operating years.
During discussions of the grocery store last year, Commissioner Rob Zapple posited potential effects of a big-box grocery store on the co-op.
“We’ll be there for five years, but [if] after five years we won’t, what happens if they can’t make it?” Zapple said. “Let’s say, all of a sudden, a Food Lion and Harris Teeter move in three blocks [away]. A gazillion things can happen.”
However, Wilmington City Council — which dedicated 2.5 acres for the co-op to build on — was optimistic about two grocery stores in its discussions over the Chestnut street proposal last year.
“It’s good to have options,” Wilmington’s economic development director Aubrey Parsley said at December council meeting. “I don’t know if the two would compete, but we are open to talking with them. … as the city works through this process.”
At the same meeting, Mayor Bill Saffo said he spoke with Wilmington Downtown Inc.’s CEO, Christina Haley, to ask if there are other examples statewide that have food co-ops in the vicinity of a big brand grocer. He relayed in both Raleigh and Asheville co-ops have succeeded and co-existed with other stores.
Council member Salette Andrews confirmed as much then, too, and thought the two would improve the “whole economy of the area.” She said when she lived in Carrboro, her residence was near the original Weaver Street Market, which also had a Harris Teeter close by.
“That Weaver Street did so well that it moved out into Hillsborough and Raleigh,” she said.
Council member Kevin Spears thought the stores would appease two demographics, with a higher end grocery store appealing to consumers closer to downtown. The Northside will have a more community-based option.
“Here’s an opportunity for all people that are involved again to step it up,” he said. “You want something that’s gonna be really cool and really effective on the Northside … And there’s no other way to say it: The people on the Northside don’t want to be slighted.”
The city and county had to redo the deed on the co-op land last year, noting should the 10th and Post streets property not be used as a grocery store, the county would need to pay the city the market value of the property.
Coudriet told commissioners its allocation to the project would return to the capital fund should the project not move forward; however, the co-op has not indicated the Northside grocery story would not happen. The endowment grant would also have to be returned.
Internal county emails show Washington, the county and the endowment have agreed to meet on March 28 regarding the “trajectory” of the project.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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