By Catherine M. Welch
Wilmington, NC – The Wilmington Planning Commission is scheduled Wednesday night to consider rezoning land surrounding the base of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
The Gateway project is the first seeking zoning under the city's new Riverfront Mixed Use District.
The plan is to build a retail, condo and hotel high-rise on the south side of the bridge and leave land on the north side open for future development.
Residents of Old Wilmington President Kevin O'Grady says he's worried about the estimated 16,000 daily trips generated by the development.
We're going to still be wary about traffic, we're going to still watch it like a hawk to make sure that there is some kind of traffic plan, because that's a big concern.
O'Grady says his group wants the developer to build only on the south property and turn the northern plot of land into a park. Gateway developer John Evans says his group wants to hold off on making any decisions for that northern patch of land.
And so we've just withdrawn all intent on that side of the bridge. There's a possibility that we might build there in the future, if it's workable, or it might end up as city park land
The Gateway project started out as a pair of towers straddling the bridge, and has since been whittled down to the 14-story retail/hotel/condo complex.
Want to see a larger photo of the proposed project? Click here to view.
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