NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Plans to bring a grocery store to downtown Wilmington’s Northside was seemingly put on hold when both The Endowment and New Hanover County commissioners pulled funding; however, co-op leadership is not letting either deter its plans.
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“As a team, we are 100% committed to still building and opening the grocery store — I’m not hesitating,” project manager Cierra Washington said in an interview with Port City Daily Monday.
The public first learned of funding changes to the Northside Food Co-op — which planned to bring a grocery store to 900 10th Street — at the county’s budget session on June 12. Commissioner LeAnn Pierce revealed The Endowment “pulled back” on its $6.7-million grant a week earlier.
The Endowment originally granted the money in February 2024, to help follow through on the county’s commitment to alleviating the Northside’s food desert.
Commissioners then cut the co-op’s $2.5 million in funding and transferred it elsewhere in the budget based on The Endowment’s withdrawal.
On Monday, Washington told Port City Daily the county’s decision to cut its funding was a surprise to them. She said the co-op had received little face time with the commissioners and county manager prior to their budget vote, though it’s common for county partners to work directly with staff rather than commissioners.
However, Endowment, the county manager and county staff met with the co-op on June 4 to discuss The Endowment’s need to reevaluate the co-op grant. It had been six months since the food co-op decided to pause its plans after the City of Wilmington entered an agreement to sell its surplus property on Chestnut and Third streets to Cape Fear Holdings for a major grocery store brand.
Despite city officials claiming the deal wouldn’t threaten the co-op, Washington said it didn’t have customers to lose to a competitor; the co-op was poised to be the first grocery store downtown in three decades or more. An ongoing market study had shown that a grocery store alone could not stay afloat, even if every Northside resident shopped there, something Washington claimed had been true even before the Chestnut Street big brand store, located a mile away, was on the city’s radar.
As reported by Port City Daily in March, the co-op paused zoning, permitting and design work on the project at the beginning of the year, after city council’s December vote to sell its property for a grocery store.
At the time, Washington stated the county and Endowment were still in support of the Northside Food Co-op. The Endowment just needed to figure out the “best way to work with” them after the project changed.
Last week, The Endowment provided a $320,000 grant to Growing Resilience, the nonprofit that oversees the food co-op’s charity efforts. Washington said the money will be used for the co-op’s community dinners, while also supporting the team’s work toward the grocery store.
The co-op’s study continues analyzing the best business model for the store. Two changes are still being explored — the addition of a hot-food concept or transferring its planned location from 10th Street to a spot with more foot traffic. Washington hopes they can make some decisions in the next couple months.
“Because funding was paused, it did affect that timeline, but our architects are still on board, our consultants are still on board,” she said.
Washington also iterated research conducted before the funding shortages indicated the store would “be more economically sustainable” than originally thought. However, she couldn’t share more details about the study at this time.
Washington said the co-op didn’t hear from commissioners after they rescinded funding, but Chief Facilities Officer Sara Warmuth and Senior Facilities Coordinator David King expediently transferred the co-op’s architecture and consultant contracts the day after. They also answered any questions she had in the aftermath as well.
Port City Daily reached out to each commissioner Monday for their thoughts on the future of the co-op. Commissioner Pierce said the co-op’s pause was already weighing heavy on her decision before The Endowment pulled out its funding.
“For me, it’s always about business and about the numbers,” she said. “I make sure there’s compassion and, you know, how do you take care of the community and balance all that, but you can’t have your checkbook open all the time.”
In a move that surprised not only the public but the board’s two Democratic elected leaders, the Republican commissioners, Bill Rivenbark, Dane Scalise and Pierce, brought forth a budget on June 12 with a significantly lower tax rate, though at the expense of $30.6 million in cut services. The food co-op money was transferred to upgrading the decades-old technology at the 911 center.
“We wanted to keep our tax rate down,” Pierce said. “I think [funding the 911 center] was very smart, very crucial infrastructure that we needed. So I think that was the smart thing to do, instead of just holding the money, put it where it needed to go.”
She said her understanding was county funding would be reconsidered when the food co-op’s study was complete and a new business model was decided upon. She said she didn’t think the area chosen for the grocery store could sustain its use.
Nevertheless, the commissioner was open to restoring funding. Commissioner Rob Zapple agreed but noted the ball was in the food co-op’s court.
“The problem still has not been solved, and I would love to reopen the conversation when the Northside Food Co-Op, when they can bring us forward a plan that will address all the issues of having another grocery store nearby,” Zapple said, adding it could look like a permanent farmer’s market strategy rather than the original grocery store idea.
In the meantime, Washington said her team is applying for a “whole database” of other grants to see through the co-op grocery store. The co-op continues to host community meetings, with two planned this month to update the public — in-person on the evening of July 29, followed by an online session on July 30.
[Ed. Note: This piece has been updated to reflect The Endowment’s grant will be used for the co-op’s community dinners, not the farmer’s market, which has been discontinued.]
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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