Wilmington officially acquires former PPD building
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington has successfully acquired the tallest building in downtown, formerly home to the PPD headquarters.
The site includes a 1,022-space parking deck, a large office building, and two adjoining development tracts. The acquisition of the office campus allows the city to add much-needed parking capacity near Riverfront Park and consolidate numerous city departments under one roof for better operations and customer service, according to a press release.
No tax increase was required to fund the purchase of the office campus, which was included in the city’s FY24 budget. As operations transition to the new campus, the city says they intend to sell several vacated city buildings and surplus property to offset the $68 million purchase price. The historic Thalian Hall/City Hall building would not be sold.
“This adds over 1,000 parking spaces near our very successful Riverfront Park and Live Oak Bank Pavilion, brings together multiple city operations into one building, and saves millions of dollars by allowing the city to sell off aging facilities,” Mayor Bill Saffo said. “Our capacity to make such a major investment in the future without a tax increase speaks to the city’s historically strong financial position.”
The city’s purchase price represents a $43.3 million savings from an appraised market value of $111.3 million for the office campus, and a $55+ million savings over construction alternatives to meet the city’s parking and operational space needs.
