Gateway project meeting Tuesday night

Wilmington City Council will vote on rezoning some controversial riverfront property at Tuesday night’s meeting. Local residents are worried what it could mean for their homes and neighborhood.

Council members have been talking about the Gateway Project since 2005 and now it seems they are ready to give it a vote of approval.

Some area residents say not so fast. “I have 3 concerns: traffic, traffic, and traffic. That is what we really fear here on Castle Street,” said Verne Strickland, who lives downtown.

Traffic is not the only concern residents have about the proposed Gateway Project on the riverfront. They are worried the planned business and condo development will block the view of the city coming over the bridge.

Councilman Jason Thompson said the revised plan should ease some concerns, and he thinks the project should move forward. “This is part of our plans for the City of Wilmington to have residential development down there. It’s something we can live with.”

Thompson will vote to rezone the property from industrial to mixed use at Tuesday’s meeting, but residents are skeptical. “For the owner of a half million condo that has a nice car, they’re going to drive through this neighborhood. They’re not going to go down along the river past the oil tanks and the recycling plant,” said Kevin O’Grady of Old Residents of Wilmington.

The Historic Wilmington Foundation is prepared to support the Gateway Project on Surrey Street, but they support the city planners’ proposal which includes a few key variations.

A varied design of a structure that will not exceed 9 stories in height, and will have a height restriction of 110 and 120 feet at its high point is one of the major points in Tuesday’s meeting.

If approved, the development would require a river walk in front of the property.