WILMINGTON — When New Hanover County released its plans for Project Grace, a development project for a block in downtown Wilmington owned by the county, it listed four different possibilities for the future of the property. Of these four suggested plans, the most expensive one would relocate the Cape Fear Museum to downtown at a cost of $20 million to the county.
The plan to relocate the museum is not sitting well with some residents in New Hanover County, and has prompted action by a group called Renovate Not Relocate the Cape Fear Museum.
Stewart Moon, a member of the grassroots group said, “This project affects not only us but the entire downtown population directly or indirectly with traffic, over-development, loss of green-space, and public safety issues.”
The group also has concerns regarding the recent renovations that have already taken place at the museum would be a waste if the county decides to relocate it.
“The recent addition of the green-space park (and) outdoor learning area, handicap parking along Meadows Street, and the bus pull in area along 8th Street would seem like a waste of money, time, and resources. With the growth of Wilmington moving farther out from the river towards the soda-pop district there is an opportunity to grow ‘districts’ such as a theater district, an artist district, and antiques district, etc. Putting the museum downtown will most likely stymie its growth and its ability to rotate exhibits along with losing its recently constructed outdoor learning park,” Moon said.
The county is expected to decided on one of the four potential plans for Project Gracein September. The group is proactively trying to push for the renovation of the Cape Fear Museum, as opposed to moving it downtown.
“The bottom line is the museum doesn’t need to be move, it needs renovated. It is like a flower that has just begun to bloom but needs a bit of fertilizer to help it continue to grow. A re-potting of that flower to another location on the unproven idea it will create more foot traffic is not a calculated risk we should be considering,” Moon said.
Of the four different options for the county to decide upon, the plan including the relocation of the museum is by far the most costly for tax payers, according to Jennifer Rigby, strategy and policy coordinator for New Hanover County. The plan would entail private construction costs of $107 million and $20 million in county costs. It would take an estimated 19 years for the county to pay off that debt, compared to the least costly option for the county, which would cost developers approximately $120 million, but the county only $116,000, a debt which could be paid off in about a month.
Michael Praats can be reached via email at Michael.p@localvoicemedia.com
