WILMINGTON — Project Grace in Downtown Wilmington is an effort by New Hanover County to redevelop a prime piece of real estate owned by the county where the current Downtown library is located.
The project hopes to combine the library and the Cape Fear Museum, along with private investment opportunities. After putting out the call for a public-private possibility, the New Hanover County Board of commissioners is ready to move forward with proposals from two development teams.
Originally planned for September but delayed due to Hurricane Florence, the board will vote on approving a decision to instruct two firms, the Zimmer Development Corporation Team and New South Ventures to submit full proposals.
Commissioners were presented with four different options for the project last summer and in October voted to move forward with requesting developer’s requests for qualifications.
The scenarios
Scenario 1
Scenario one would reach a six-story height limit with ground floor retail on Grace Street along with a hotel and condo development. Apartments and a modernized library would be constructed on Chestnut Street. This scenario does not maximize development potential, and rezoning would not be required. The total private investment costs would equal $76 million with a $12 million investment required from the county, which would take 13.4 years to pay back the costs.
Scenario 2
Scenario two would achieve the maximum development potential and would include a five-story retail/hotel building, a 12-story retail/office/condo building, a nine-story apartment/library development and ground floor retail on Grace Street. Rezoning would not be required for this scenario and private construction cost estimates would be $107 million while county costs would be roughly $10 million, which could be paid back in just under 10 years, Rigby said.
Scenario 3
The third option presented would keep the library and park on the block as-is, while adding a 15-story hotel and condo development on Grace Street, and 14-story retail/apartment/office building. Rezoning would be required since the height limit only allows 132-foot buildings. This option would create the most amount of private investment with the least amount of government spending. Private construction cost estimates are around $120 million while county costs would be $116,000, taking a month or so to pay back.
Scenario 4
The fourth scenario would include the construction of a modern library as well as relocation of the Cape Fear Museum; the two buildings would share the same space. It would also bring a five-story, retail/hotel building, 12-story retail/office/condo, and a 10-story apartment/library/museum with Grace Street ground level retail. The total cost for the county would be more than $20 million while private construction cost estimates would be $107 million, it would take roughly 19 years for the county to pay back its portion of the costs.
A timeline
| Project Timeline | Date |
| Solicitation/Phase I: Request for Qualifications (RFQ) released | April 30, 2018 |
| Statements of qualifications from project teams due | June 15, 2018 |
| Project team evaluations | July 2018 |
| Recommendation to Board of Commissioners on how to proceed to a Request for Proposals (RFP) | September 17, 2018 |
| Top qualified teams invited to submit full proposals | October 2018 |
| Full proposals due | December 2018 |
| Evaluation of proposals, including public input and an independent financial analysis | Early 2019 as target timeframe |
| Recommendation to Board of Commissioners & decision on next steps | 2019 (specific timeframe TBD) |
