NEW HANOVER COUNTY — A forested property in the heart of Wilmington — once posed for intensive development before plans were pulled — is one step closer to conservation, six months after Commissioner Dane Scalise invigorated a community movement by calling for its preservation.
READ MORE: Resolution to preserve Independence Boulevard land heads to city council
ALSO: ‘Legacy for future generations’: UNCW geologist advocates for Independence property conservation
New Hanover County commissioners will vote to approve the $11.6-million purchase of roughly 60 acres at 3900 Independence Boulevard next Monday. According to a county statement, the sum would be financed through the Revenue Stabilization Fund and repaid over 10 years without impacting property tax rates.
“If we’re not deliberate about the cultivation of green space it won’t happen,” Scalise said on a Monday phone call. “This is an example of how taking action can manifest in real results. I think whenever we look back, this is going to be one of those things everybody points to — just like Airlie Gardens — and says: ‘Thank God we didn’t do otherwise.’”
The county has two-thirds ownership of the parcel. Under the proposed purchase agreement, the county’s actual financial obligation would be $3.8 million to buy out the remaining one-third interest held by 12 heirs of Flossie Bryan, the former property owner. The remaining sum will be transferred back to the county.
After the purchase, the county will seek community input to begin a long-term plan to determine the preserved site’s optimal use for community benefit.
“It’s just a win for everybody,” Chair Bill Rivenbark said. “It will go down as a bucket list for me on the county commission.”
The vacant site has faced an uncertain future for more than two decades. Bryan executed a will in 2000 that bequeathed the land to the county to create a park or community garden, but her heirs challenged the will in court. The county and Bryan heirs agreed to a settlement in 2006 requiring the rezoning of the tract to its “highest and best use” before its sale, with one-third of the proceeds going to the heirs, the rest to the county.
“The irony of it is many, many years ago, when I was first a young guy getting my feet wet, I did speak to Ms. Bryan about her property,” Mayor Bill Saffo said. “She had a little farm on it. I remember her telling me: ‘If I sell this property, it will be for a park. I want to preserve it for open space in perpetuity.’ Which I thought was a very noble thing.”
Last fall, Charlotte-based developer Northwood Ravin submitted a plan to rezone and purchase the Bryan tract to build 512 apartments, 45 townhomes, and 25 single-family units. But the developer withdrew the application in November amid community pushback, sparked by Scalise’s advocacy at an October commissioner meeting. He argued local officials should seize the opportunity to align with environmental stewardship goals, honor Bryan’s legacy, and potentially create an “Airlie 2.0.”
“To imagine that becoming 600 condos, townhomes, or apartment units is unfathomable to me, and that’s part of why I was so motivated to change the course of where the property was going,” Scalise said.
In the following months, elected officials received hundreds of messages from constituents urging them to find a way to preserve the site. A community petition argued intensive development on the parcel would strain infrastructure, exacerbate flooding, eliminate natural habitats, and degrade water quality with stormwater runoff.
UNCW geologist Roger noted its location is at the headwater of Barnard’s Creek: “There are multiple homes in the 100 and 500-year floodplain [near the site]. So anything we can do to reduce stormwater runoff will be positive for that area.”
Having given a presentation to Del Webb community members about the tract and a possible “Legacy Park,” Shew was asked by councilmember Luke Waddell to also speak before council. Shew envisions broad possibilities, including educational and job training endeavors, walking and biking trails, water monitoring, farming, and agrivoltaics — the practice of using the land for agriculture and solar energy production.
Waddell published a WilmingtonBiz op-ed in February advocating urgent strategic coordination between the county, city, and the New Hanover Community Endowment to identify, acquire, and preserve remaining green space areas.
“I’m incredibly excited to see the work commissioner Scalise and the rest of the commission have done to get this to come to fruition,” Waddell told Port City Daily. “In my opinion, this is the top thing that the people of New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington want to see — their elected officials working deliberately to conserve what greenspace we can.”
In March, Councilmember Salette Andrews introduced to council a resolution supporting the property’s conservation, which unanimously passed. Although the county has majority ownership of the Independence property, the city has jurisdiction over any rezoning application that would come forward on the property.
Andrews also praised the commissioners’ move and expressed hope it reflects a broader commitment to support green space and preserve local heritage: “This is an important step towards honoring Ms. Bryan’s wishes while also ensuring thoughtful stewardship of one of the last large tracts of land with such significant historical and cultural ties.”
New Hanover County has lost much of its tree canopy cover and historic vegetation amid rapid population growth and development over the last two decades.
Local officials’ new emphasis on preserving green space comes amid a series of state laws rolling back municipal authority over development regulation, including a recent bill expanding personal liability for local officials’ land-use decisions. Scalise said he received a call last fall from someone suggesting he could be creating a “legal liability” for pursuing the Bryan tract preservation.
“I said: ‘I’m not worried about that. This is the right thing to do and I’m going to see this thing through,’” Scalise recalled. “I staked out my position publicly and privately, and I said come hell or high water it is my intention to see this property to see this property preserved as green space.”
Local advocacy groups including the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees, the North Carolina Sierra Club, and Save Sledge Forest argue a broader effort is necessary to ensure adequate infrastructure and protect the Cape Fear region’s natural heritage. Many residents, including Julie Hurley, believe New Hanover County is already overdeveloped.
“Preserving Flossie Bryan farm is a great example of prioritizing the well-being of our citizens and preserving our natural small-town character,” she said. “Our community spoke up for the future we envisioned and elected officials listened.”
“Sometimes people need even a small victory that gives you hope,” Del Webb Riverlights resident Sharon Valentine said. “This may be small, but by the time this vision is complete, it is going to be a unique place.”
Tips or comments? Email journalist Peter Castagno at peter@localdailymedia.com.
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