The city of Wilmington and New Hanover County appear on track to purchase a section of what was once the Echo Farms Golf Club. Last week, county commissioners told staff to approach the developer of Echo Farms and negotiate a purchase that would give the county 18 acres of land. Now it’s up to Wilmington to agree to partner on the purchase and development.
Should the deal move forward, it would include more than 18 acres of land that features clay tennis courts, the tennis clubhouse and a swimming pool. The purchase price is around $1.7 million.
How the city and county will divide that amount is still an open question.
City Council member Paul Lawler.
“I think it’s safe to say that we’ll look at it carefully, and we want to know all the details. The cost, how it will be managed, will it be really accessible to all members of the community. We just want to make sure it’s really good for the city and the residents. But getting 18 acres in town would be a great addition to our park system.”
New Hanover County Commissioners are unanimous in their support of the plan.
The golf course at Echo Farms was closed last October by the property owners, Matrix Development.