On Thursday, The Endowment announced it had “provisionally approved” a $7,750,000 grant to the City of Wilmington to preserve green space and build a park — with a few conditions.
The grant comes a few months after the City of Wilmington approved earmarking $1 million to acquire land for public use, allowing the city manager to enter into an “initial, no-obligation inspection period.”
The city did not identify the land but said it had a particular property in mind. According to city documents, “a potentially viable property has been identified in an area that currently lacks notable park amenities.”
Back in early October of last year, the city noted that there were both financial and timing constraints.
“[The property’s] anticipated cost exceeds what the City can independently afford at this time. Time is also of the essence, as the current owner is considering selling it for development purposes,” according to the city’s resolution.
The city asked New Hanover County to match its investment up to $1 milliion, a request that caught some commissioners off guard, leading some to voice frustrations or say they wished they had been told in advance before the city made its announcement. However, commissioners did not reject the idea out of hand. The city also indicated it would approach The Endowment for grant support.
The city is expected to officially consider approval of the property deal at its February 3 meeting.
The county has not yet committed to cost-sharing for the project. According to a spokesperson, the issue is expected to come before commissioners at their February 16 regular meeting.
The property in question has still not been publicly identified, although both the city and county have held closed-session meetings to discuss real estate transactions over the last several months.
The Endowment said that “additional details, including the project’s urgency and alignment with the City’s and County’s long-term plans, will be announced jointly in the coming weeks if the parties reach agreement and receive the requisite approvals from their governing bodies.”
The Endowment is also looking more broadly at investing in "recreational opportunities." Shortly before the city announced its greenspace plan, The Endowment announced it had selected the South Carolina-based Weston & Sampson firm, which also worked on the city's master parks and recreation plan, to conduct an assessment of New Hanover County's "recreational landscape." At the time, The Endowment said it expected the assessment to take between six and nine months.
