SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — It’s been a busy week in news in the greater Wilmington region. In case you missed it, Port City Daily put together a recap of the five top read stories in the last seven days.
At the beginning of the week, the county reversed course on going the eminent route to make a $2.3 million purchase of its neighbor, the Cheetah Premier Gentleman’s Club, for its parking needs.
County commissioners voted unanimously at the beginning of November to explore eminent domain, to the surprise of property owner Jerry Reid. Commissioners had a change of heart Monday after public backlash and realizing Reid and his legal counsel wanted to work to find a solution.
“I think that it is appropriate at this time to rescind our resolution to explore eminent domain, and to continue those efforts to consider the voluntary purchase of the property in question,” Scalise said Monday, raising the motion to abandon eminent domain.
Now, the two parties are coming to the table to negotiate, though Reid has been adamant he wanted to stay at 132 S. College Rd.
To catch up on the latest news involving Cheetah, click below:
By mid-week much of Wilmington’s attention was back on the five-month closure of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. The bridge deck has to be replaced on the 50-plus-year structure, which is reaching its end of life but it’s replacement has yet been funded by North Carolina Department of Transportation. Therefore, ongoing and costly maintenance continues to take place.
NCDOT publicly announced its plans for a wintertime repair to the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization in May. The deck repair will close two lanes at a time, the first to take place at the beginning of January 2024. Eastbound lanes will close so travelers from Brunswick County into Wilmington have to use the Isabel Holmes Bridge instead; in April eastbound lanes open, while westbound lanes close through Memorial Day. So folks traveling from Wilmington to Brunswick County will be rerouted to the Isabel Holmes Bridge.
The detour for container trucks traversing to the ports has been of great concern and NCDOT didn’t announce until Wednesday the route would include traveling up MLK Parkway to College Road and down Shipyard Boulevard. The ports, with NCDOT’s support, asked for the use of Third Street, but the city denied the request, due to ordinances on the books against large truck capacity.
Also, WMPO has begun sharing strategies with major employers in the region in attempt to alleviate some of the congestion expected from the closure. It’s been sharing a toolkit with Novant, Corning, nCino and Live Oak Bank focused on encouraging employees to seek out alternative transportation options.
PCD’s coverage of the detours can be found below:
As Thursday rolled around, the county announced plans for Project Grace were evolving. A standalone museum is being considered at the corner of Third and Chestnut streets, with a big name in sports and a Wilmington icon attached to it.
County manager Chris Coudriet announced that a Michael Jordan museum was being explored for downtown Wilmington. It would stand where the current Story Park is at the Chestnut Street library, which will be razed for a new museum and library to be built as part of a public-private partnership with Cape Fear Commercial.
The cost of the museum or who is footing the bill has not been announced yet. The county signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jordan family to outline next steps of the planning phase, including schematic design and operational details of the partnership. Funding for this phase will be included as part of the overall Project Grace planning budget and is expected to occur in 2024.
Here is the original report:
And across another bridge in town, Snow’s Cut into Carolina Beach, almost 100 people packed out a parking forum this week. Carolina Beach is the only beach municipality in the tri-county region to charge for parking during the off-season.
Business owners vehemently spoke out about this move to town manager Bruce Oakley and deputy town manager Ed Parvin, the only town representatives present to transcribe the issues for council considerations. Council members were asked not to attend so residents could provide productive feedback to staff.
Since switching vendors to Pivot Parking mid-2021, the town has been evaluating its parking program. It has made changes over the last two years that have left many visitors confused by its inconsistencies — or altogether abandoning a visit to the beach town and its businesses due to paying year-round.
Jerry Hebert, owner of Pleasure Island Tavern and Buzz’s Roost at the Beach, said Buzz’s Roost was down by $500,000 this year compared to zero losses in other years and had to lay off roughly 40 people. Due to the lack of customers, he’s considering closing for the off-season, a move he’s never made.
“We’re just getting killed by parking,” Hebert said at the meeting. “You really don’t know the extreme that it is, which drives the need for us all to work together to make this work.”
Other local business owners reported similar losses, including Lake Park Steakhouse and Hang Ten Grill, down anywhere from 10% to 35% this year compared to previous years where customers were only charged to park in the summer.
Residents and business owners suggested numerous changes for CB leaders to consider. Catch up on full details below:
And in food news this week, a popular Wilmington sushi bar is opening a second restaurant in the northern region of the county.
Jing Chen told Port City Daily earlier this week about her plans to open Nori Asian Fusion in Marsh Oaks. Chen and her husband, Yun Zhao — who also co-own Nikki’s Steak House & Sushi Bar — opened Nori in the Point at Barclay in 2018.
They’ve endured quite a few more hardships than they expected with the Covid-19 pandemic, but managed to push through, maintaining a strong clientele.
“And we always wanted to expand,” Chen said.
She found the Marsh Oaks location at the suggestion of one of her regular customers; the location will be 3,600 square feet and break ground in March. The goal is to open by September 2024.
Here is the dish:
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