What the Cape Fear Museum has in store for Project Grace

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Project Grace in downtown Wilmington is moving along on schedule. 

The $56 million project will eventually include a new public library and home for the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science. 

Currently crews are working on completing roofing, exterior framing, plumbing and electric systems. 

Girard Newkirk with the Cape Fear Museum’s associate board got a firsthand look at the construction. 

He said the museum hopes to create a cultural epicenter for the Cape Fear. 

“It being right there at the intersection at Third and Chestnut is phenomenal,” Nerkirk said. “The views are going to be not only on the river side, but also on the city side. The steeples, it’s going to be an incredible environment for us to really bring together cultural connectivity and innovation in our community.” 

After completion of the building in fall 2025, the museum portion of Project Grace is scheduled to open in the spring of 2026. 

The current museum location on Market Street will be renovated into a historical archive. 

Museum Development Director Kitty Yerkes said the new space will also encourage collaboration with institutions like UNCW, Which just completed an expansion of its own historical archive within Discovery Hall. 

“This will give us the opportunity to collaborate even more. I think other folks will be interested in collaborating more with us in the new facility because it’s an exciting place to be,” Yerkes said. 

Museum Director Kate Baillon said the new exhibits will include a planetarium, a children’s area titled “Port City Play,” a 2-story light up climber, an interactive water table and much more. 

“We really feel that that’s a way to get different learning goals across. People learn by reading, people learn by seeing, but they also learn by doing,” Baillon added. 

For more information on Project Grace, you can visit here.