City of Wilmington purchases riverfront property formerly home to Coast Guard Cutter Diligence

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Fresh off the closing on the purchase of the Thermo-Fisher building to begin creating a northern downtown campus, the City of Wilmington is purchasing another parcel of land that was formerly federal property.

Wilmington City Council authorized the purchase of 201 South Water Street from the US Coast Guard.

For several decades, the property was operated as a city park through a license with the Coast Guard.

The $1.2 million dollar purchase will allow the city to re-establish the park space while also connecting it with the Riverwalk.

The more than one-and-a-half acre parcel includes the area that used to be the home dock for the Coast Guard Cutter Diligence.

Before the Diligence left Wilmington, Mayor Bill Saffo says there were informal conversations with the Coast Guard to have the property transferred to the city for little to no money. Through no malice of the Coast Guard, Saffo explains this never came to fruition because of the general statutes put into place when it comes to the federal government divesting surplus property.

Saffo says he’s glad to see this property in the hands of the citizens of Wilmington.

“This is just adding on to this beautiful Riverwalk that we have, this beautiful downtown that we have adored and that we have transformed and that we have brought it back to life. It’s going to be magnificent when it’s finally completed. I know there will be a lot of public input as to what we should put down there but I’m glad that tonight the citizens of Wilmington own a very beautiful and significant piece of property for our community.”

Councilmember Kevin Spears was the only member of council who voted in opposition to the purchase. Spears said he would like the city to own the property, but not for $1.2 million dollars.

The funding will include bulkhead repair and operating expenses for the remainder of this fiscal year, which began July 1.