Gateway Project no longer moving forward as developer leaves project

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — After years of planning, the Gateway Project in downtown Wilmington will not be getting off the ground, at least in its current form.

East-West Partners, the project’s developer, is stepping away from the project.

The $200 million project was originally designed to create a number of apartment and retail spaces on several empty lots located in the northern portion of downtown Wilmington, near Riverfront Park.

The City of Wilmington had accepted East-West’s proposal back in 2019.

The manager of East-West’s Wilmington division, Mckay Siegel, said times have changed since then.

“Obviously, things changed in the last 4 to 5 years since this was dreamed up, from a market condition standpoint and you know, the timing of it ended up not working out,” Siegel said.

According to a City of Wilmington spokesperson, the city will look at and consider other options to continue developing the area where the project was meant to stand.