On Tuesday, The Endowment awarded seven grants totaling $15.8 million.
The foundation, created from the sale of the county hospital to Novant Health, said four of those grants, totaling $13.5 million, would help “improve and expand recreation facilities, including two that augment public infrastructure in partnership with the Towns of Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach.”
A grant of $3.5 million will “supplement” Carolina Beach’s “Coastal Park and Event Stage.” (The 'supplement' language is important, because The Endowment's founding documents allow it to supplement local government spending, but not supplant their funding obligations.)
The town is purchasing land near the town’s Boardwalk for a public space. According to The Endowment, the grant will “help advance plans for green space, outdoor recreation, family-friendly amenities, and a stage for entertainment and educational programs.”
The Endowment noted that nearby parking and a “connection to Wave Transit” will help residents from across the county reach the park. (The direct 301 Pleasure Island route from Monkey Junction to Carolina Beach ended in 2022, but WAVE now offers a microtransit connection.)
A $1.5 million grant is going to Wrightsville Beach to supplement improvement work on the popular John T. Nesbitt Loop. According to The Endowment, the project ”will help maintain a walking route during the N.C. Department of Transportation’s three-year bridge replacement project and support planning and design for a wider, fully accessible Loop.”
Notably, there is no public transportation access to Wrightsville Beach.
Two grants will support aquatics facilities, with $6.5 million going to support the development of a new 50-meter indoor aquatics center at the Nir Family YMCA off Market Street, which will expand a program to help expand pool programming for elementary school kids. A second $2 million grant will support renovations and infrastructure improvements at the YWCA Lower Cape Fear’s Aquatics Center off of College Road.
Those grants, according to The Endowment, were informed by its ongoing Recreational Opportunities Assessment, which it expects to complete in the fall.
The announcement also includes $2.3 million to “strengthen preventive care and early intervention across the lifespan: in early childhood, in community health care, and in residents’ homes.”
A grant for nearly $1.3 million will go to MedNorth Health Center to support a “one-stop shop center to deliver coordinated medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, and ancillary services.” An $800,000 grant for the Child Development Center will support preschoolers with developmental, behavioral, and medical needs. And a roughly $250,000 grant will help Welcome Home Angel “establish a permanent location for services that include home modifications and clinical support for children and older adults.”
