City council to vote on buying $2M vacant property downtown

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington City Council will discuss buying a piece of prime real estate downtown tonight.

The price tag for the property is $2 million.

“We’re excited about the neighborhood coming around,” restaurant owner Luke Poulos said.

Luke Poulos opened the District Kitchen and Cocktails on the north end of downtown Wilmington about a year ago and ever since he said it just keeps growing.

“Yeah and I’ve noticed the city is doing things,” Poulos said. “The city is making an effort to move this way, to help the Brooklyn Arts Dristrict, the north end of downtown.”

City spokesman Dylan Lee said council now has their eyes on a 1.2 acre property near North Front, Second, Third, and Brunswick Streets.

“It was a company I believe it was called RSC heavy equipment and they had you know cherry pickers and lifts and things like that,” Lee said.

The property now sits vacant and Mayor Bill Saffo said they have wanted to do something about it for a while.

“It just did not look attractive,” Saffo said.

If the city spends $2 million dollars to buy it, what it would become is to be determined.

“We as a council feel that it is an important, strategic location and that it’s something that we should own, because it’s the entrance way to the city,” Saffo said. “That’s our vision. Now, the other part of that is we have to have the public input as to what they would like to see down there.”

Some folks have already taken to Facebook with ideas. Nicholas Monferrato said, ‘A small co-op for healthy food.” Keith Sabin said, “A youth center.”

“I could not say for certain what the city needs up here, but I think it’d be great to put a ball park up here,” Poulos said.

Council will vote on the purchase tonight at the city council meeting. Lee said the money would come from the general fund.