Tour sheds light on treasures hidden upstairs downtown

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Port City is lucky to have a downtown area with shopping, eateries and historic sites, but sometimes downtown’s bad reputation can distort the unique setting we have on the waterfront. A tour this weekend aims to change that perception.

“When you walk downtown you usually notice what’s eye level, but you don’t look up and realize people are living over the pizza shop or the restaurant or the retail store,” said Susan Johnson, chair of this weekend’s Downtown Lifestyle Tour.

There’s a lot of hustle and bustle on the streets of downtown Wilmington, ut it’s a whole new world within the walls of these buildings.

“People don’t realize. They think there’s a lot of horror stories about living downtown with the rush and the crime and so forth, but when you actually live here and you get up above these shops and you see how nice these properties are and how different they are, it’s a really nice place to live,” Libby Beccarino of Plantation Building Corp.

Wilmington Downtown Inc. will host the Downtown Lifestyle Tour this weekend to give people a chance to see what makes downtown living so unique.

“The first time I went through some of them to figure out who we’re putting on the tour my mouth dropped, because I was amazed at what exists over some of the places you take for granted as you walk by downtown,” Johnson said.

The tour showcases 15 lofts and condos. They range from traditional to funky and from small to large. Some showcase historical preservations, while others are a taste of modern style. Bottom line is there’s something for everyone.

The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Organizers say despite showcasing 15 different locations the tour is walkable.

You can get tickets in advance at www.wilmingtondowntown.com or at Finkelstein’s at Front and Market Streets.