Wilmington Downtown Inc. will recommend whether establishing multiple municipal service districts will further enhance redevelopment in downtown.

Ed Wolverton, WDI president and CEO, said during a city council briefing on Monday that the organization will study the feasibility of establishing multiple municipal service districts (MSD) within the central business district of downtown Wilmington.

The city council approved a resoultion at its Tuesday meeting endorsing WDI to complete the evaluation by the next fiscal year.

According to city documents, WDI will help city officials determine whether the MSD designation, which is alternatively being called a “business improvement district,” will help spur economic development and redevelopment throughout the city’s established business core.

Under state development statutes, BIDs allow a “municipality to establish one or more municipal service districts and assess a special tax in each of the districts to be used to fund services or projects in the district,” including the formation of municipal service districts to fund downtown revitalization projects.

Michael Lemanski, director of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Development Finance Initiative, said during a Feb. 18 city council meeting that if the city wants to maximize the site’s redevelopment potential, officials should consider the establishment of a municipal service district, or BID.

Roger Johnson, assistant to the city manager for economic development, said his division has identified three areas within the central business district that would be ideal for municipal service district designations:

- The Brooklyn Arts District, which includes the Brooklyn Arts venue and much of the property surrounding the location

- The northern riverfront area that encompasses the Northern Riverfront Hotel and Marina development and a number of properties near PPD’s headquarters

- The southern riverfront area, which includes a number of properties and uses south of Grace Street

All of the areas are zoned CBD, meaning the locations provide flexible code and zoning requirements that make them attractive for commercial and mixed-use development.

Lemanski said while BIDs may require taxation on properties, he did not recommend such a course for the city to take in redeveloping the parking deck site.
 
Last month, the Development Finance Initiative (DFI) – a division within the University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government that was paid $50,000 by the city to help identify and maximize redevelopment of the city-owned Water Street parking deck site at 200 N. Water St. – unveiled  preliminary plans for the site.  

One prepared rendering called for two, 12-story high-rise buildings with 175 to 225 residential units to rise on the site. The plan also included 650 parking spaces and 25,000 square feet of retail fronting Water Street. To prevent the building from looking like a parking deck, the team suggested the parking component be wrapped in residential housing units.  

A second rendering called for one, 24-story building to rise on the site – although division leaders said under the city’s current development code such a tall building would not be allowed in the CBD.

No plans have been finalized for the site, and DFI officials remain mute on how much the potential private/public partnership will cost.  

City officials have launched a survey that will be available until March 12 to solicit input on how to redevelop the parking deck site.

The city council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at Wilmington City Hall, 102 N. Third St.