WILMINGTON — The City of Wilmington has revealed plans — albeit short-term — for a property once eyed for a grocery store in downtown Wilmington.
Deputy City Manager Mary Vigue informed council on Tuesday that staff have been preparing the vacant lot at 305 Chestnut St. to be a “pop-up park” for the duration of the summer. The property will host artwork in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding this year and thus will be named Celebration Park.
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“We all recognize that this is a piece of property we will sell or develop in the future, but in the time being, there’s pop-ups … how do we take this vacant parcel of land that has probably been an eyesore for some of us and change it to celebrate something that’s great about our country?” Vigue said.
The deputy city manager said the city is partnering with Thalian Hall in hopes of hosting an outdoor movie series on Saturday nights at least once a month this summer.
The park will launch May 22 and the pop-up will run through September. Council member Chakema Clinton-Quintana questioned what the plan after September would be and suggested the lot host small business pop-ups until a permanent use for the property is established.
Council member Cassidy Santaguida also opened the “can of worms” over the grocery store originally slated for the surplus parcels.
The city declared 1.65 acres at 305, 315 and 319 Chestnut Street surplus in February 2023 following the city’s $68-million purchase of the Skyline Center. The city purchased the building to consolidate city departments into the building and rent out unused space otherwise to area businesses, like Civic Federal Credit Union and Thermo Fisher.
In December 2024, Cape Fear Holdings, an affiliate of Cape Fear Development, submitted a bid to purchase the properties for $1.7 million. The city’s agreement with Cape Fear Holdings included a restrictive covenant requiring the property be used for a grocery store.
As downtown Wilmington is considered a food desert, bringing a large grocery option to the area was a priority for council, who also donated land to the Northside Food Co-op’s store planned for 10th and Post streets in 2022. Earlier in 2024, the food co-op was granted $6.7 million from The New Hanover Community Endowment, which coupled with funding from New Hanover County, was enough to get the store off the ground.
However, the Cape Fear Holdings deal derailed the co-op. Fast-forward to April 2025, the co-op said it was exploring other business models, such as a hot-food bar, to be able to stand out from name brand store. A few months later, both the New Hanover County commissioners and The Endowment pulled its funding from the co-op.
In November 2025, Cape Fear Holdings notified the city it would not move forward with the purchase and development of the Chestnut Street property. The co-op has said it has not abandoned the grocery store, though it hasn’t outlined a way forward without its financial backing.
As a grocery is still needed downtown, Port City Daily asked the city if the Chestnut Street property would still be restricted for grocery store use, the city stated it was “pursuing a master downtown plan to ensure the city is using its holdings in the most strategic way.” As reported by Port City Daily earlier this month, the Greater Downtown Plan doesn’t lay out a specific blueprint for the property.
In response to Santaguida’s question on where the grocery store stands, City Manager Becky Hawke said while the property could be sold or used for any purpose per council’s prerogative, the three parcels on Chestnut Street may not be the best location for a grocery store.
“We think, given the space constraints on this site, that one of the other city-owned parcels might be better suited ultimately for it, but we’re working through that process, right now,” Hawke said.
Though a downtown grocery store remains an unsolved problem, the Greater Downtown Plan — yet to be passed by council — does encourage the city to use the property it owns for public good and promote the filling of vacant lots with events and activities. Outdoor movies were proposed specifically.
In line with Clinton-Quintana’s suggestion, another core component of the plan is making it easier for new business concepts to be incubated within the city through pop-ups and mobile options.
“This is very much just an activation, instead of it being just a fenced-off dead space,” Hawke said. “Let’s get it in use. Let’s make it pretty, so that it’s not just sitting as an eyesore.”
Vigue explained city staff across many departments were put to work on fixing up the Chestnut Street lots less than two months ago.
Staff from streets and stormwater, transportation, parks, communications, and asset and property management handled much of the design and physical work in-house, repairing stonework, laying brick, installing lighting in red, white, and blue, and preparing infrastructure for future enhancements.
In a statement to Port City Daily, a city spokesperson wrote the pop-up park is a “great example of the way the city is operating now under the new ‘One City’ motto.”
The concept was adopted as part of this year’s organizational realignment headed by the city manager and her chief of staff, Dennis LaCaria. Some city departments and positions were consolidated to reduce overlap and cost effectiveness. The motto also emphasizes efficiency through reducing departmental siloes and accomplishing tasks in-house instead of contracting outside the agency.
Aside from the landscaping, the city’s planning staff is working on “telling the story” of America’s 250th anniversary in an overhang with photos associated with the country’s founding. The park will serve as the temporary home for an art installation depicting a “Wilmington Tea Walk,” a historical event led by colonial women involving burning tea to protest the British. The art piece was commissioned in May 2025 for $25,000.
Port City Daily asked the city how much the cleanup and improvements cost; a spokesperson said because most of the work was done by staff, there is no traditional budget to share and exact estimates would need to be obtained through a public records request.
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