WILMINGTON — The long-awaited City of Wilmington Multi-Modal Transporation Center continues to move forward as City Council prepares to approve $1.7 million worth of improvements to rehabilitate the property at 525 N. 4th Street for the project.
The project, at least according to Wave Transit’s own website, was supposed to be completed by summer of 2019, however, that completion date has been moved. The center will serve as a downtown transit center and will be located across from the Brooklyn Arts Center.
“To be located at North 3rd St and Campbell St., the new Downtown Transit Center will offer residents and visitors more safety, convenience, and accessibility on their way to work or play. The project is a collaborative effort between the City of Wilmington, the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO), and the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority (Wave Transit),” according to Wave Transit.
The project is nothing new, in fact, it is a project more than a decade in the making.
“On February 15, 2005, the Wilmington City Council voted to select Site #5 (bound by North 3rd Street, the railbed, North 4th Street, and Red Cross Street) as the preferred location for the future Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center. Following the site selection by City Council, NCDOT with funding assistance from the City of Wilmington purchased all of the properties necessary for the future Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center.
“The Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority is presently constructing the transit portion of the Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center on their property. The anticipated completion date for the transit portion of the project is winter 2019. The rail portion of the facility will be constructed at a later date,” according to City Council’s agenda.
Related: Despite increased budget, Wave Transit struggles with funding issues, covering enough ground
Despite having selected the property back in 2005, it was not until 2017 that the property was given to the City of Wilmington.
“NCDOT conveyed the property located at 525 North 4th Street (former Thomas Grocery building) to the City of Wilmington on January 30, 2017. This property is currently owned by the City and the building is vacant. The rehabilitation and re-use of the building/property located at 525 North 4th Street is being identified as the Wilmington Multi-modal Transportation Center Phase 1B. The estimated cost to rehabilitate the building is $1,700,000,” according to the council’s agenda.
City Council will be voting on a resolution on Tuesday to approve the spending of $340,000 for the project, the local match amount required to receive the grant funds.
