Gateway property avoids foreclosure auction

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — It was scheduled for a foreclosure sale today, but the Downtown Gateway property won’t be changing hands yet. The land south of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge in Wilmington was supposed to be developed into a high-rise complex, but it never materialized. The owners filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy today less than an hour before it was scheduled to be auctioned at noon.

The substitute trustee for the foreclosure said the bankruptcy process gives the owners more time to find a buyer.

“The matter is going to travel through the bankruptcy system. It may be sold through the bankruptcy court, or it could, at some point, depending on what happens in that case, it could come back for sale here on the courthouse steps some later date,” Jerry Mann said.

The owners’ original plan for the property was to build hundreds of condos along with restaurants and retail space.