New Hanover Co. Commissioners vote to buy Project Grace design plans for $2.5M

The commissioners voted to purchase design plans for the project for $2.5 million from Zimmer Development Company. 

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met Monday afternoon to discuss several items, including the future of “Project Grace.”

The commissioners voted to purchase design plans for the project for $2.5 million from Zimmer Development Company.

This is the original amount the commissioners and Zimmer decided on earlier this year, but when the item was presented at tonight’s meeting, Zimmer asked for more than $2.6 million for the plans because of the third-party costs accrued while creating the plans.

Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to pay the original $2.5 million.

Rob Zapple, a New Hanover County Commissioner, commented on the vote saying, “I thought it was appropriate for the county taxpayers and for us as commissioners that we stick to the plan. I think Commissioner Barfield said it best, ‘a deal is a deal,’ and that’s what we agreed to.”

Vice Chair Deb Hays was the only dissenting vote.

The commissioners also heard an update on the community endowment established to spend more than $1 billion dollars from the sale of the hospital.

Endowment CEO William Buster says non-profits who are being awarded the first round of grants from the endowment will be notified at the beginning of December.

Buster says the organization hopes to do two grant cycles per year.