The City of Wilmington is looking into a possible land condemnation behind the Target store on New Centre Drive to assist a developer in connecting several roads in that area.
City council has authorized staff to proceed with an appraisal of land at 4709 New Centre Drive. The appraisal, expected to cost between $3,000 and $4,500, could lead to a condemnation to acquire an easement for a road that would connect Ringo Street with Hunters Trail as part of a multifamily development.
The developer, Charlotte-based 5016 Hunters Trail LLC, plans to construct apartments on nearly 43 acres on Hunters Trail, which currently dead-ends just south of the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. Property lines and development to the west prohibit Hunters Trail from being extended to New Centre, hence the proposal to extend the road southward to connect with Ringo just behind the Target.
But the developer has been unable to come to terms with the owner of the 3-acre parcel in the path of that route for an easement for a road, Deputy City Manager Tony Caudle recently told council—prompting the request for the city’s assistance. New Hanover County tax records list the property owner as Arizona-based Centro Heritage New Centre LLC.
While the city is not yet seeking a condemnation—an infrequent action that is considered a last resort in negotiations with property owners—council’s approval of the appraisal is a step in that direction, though council members asked that staff continue to work with both parties to achieve a solution and avoid a condemnation.
Councilman Kevin O’Grady voted against the appraisal’s approval, contending that the city is interceding between two private parties for a road that would have no benefit to the public at-large. Caudle noted the connection is outlined in the city’s traffic management plans for the area, but O’Grady maintained his opposition to the proposal.
“Eminent domain is an awesome power, and we have to be careful how we use it,” O’Grady said. “I just don’t think it passes muster.”
Other council members said the developer had exhausted all other options and was seeking the city’s assistance. Margaret Haynes and others agreed that the city could at least appraise the property while working toward a solution that could avoid condemnation.
Caudle noted the developer is facing time constraints, as well as those of the subject property, which is bound by the parkway, the parcel in question and a nearby “borrow pit”—an area where construction material such as soil, gravel or sand is dug—on property along Ringo owned by the N.C. Department of Transportation. Caudle said the DOT has indicated it would be open to the city constructing a short road across that property to connect other roads, should such extensions be possible.
For the developer, Caudle said: “Time is of the essence.”
Councilwoman Laura Padgett noted the city could appraise the property within a matter of weeks, but she cautioned that a condemnation action could take weeks and months to approve and finalize.
“That needs to be remembered,” she said. “It may be much quicker to get agreement at the state level.”
Imminent domain actions are rare for the City of Wilmington, city spokeswoman Malissa Talbert said.
“Certainly it’s a last resort,” Talbert said. “We try to work with property owners if we can, and usually we come to some resolution.”
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Jonathan Spiers is a reporter for Port City Daily. He can be reached at (910) 772-6313 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @jrspiers
