By Some of Wilmington’s most prominent developers once wooed these seemingly pivotal projects, bringing with them the potential for new jobs, residents and businesses, and of course much needed tax revenue.

But then, the market crashed.

Some projects survived by scrapping some of its more opulent components, others weren’t so lucky.

Here are our top five projects that have either been retired or are hanging on — barely. 

Lincoln Plaza
Proposal Year: 2005
Location: Downtown Wilmington-North Second Street
Project Summary: A seven-story, class-A office complex behind the current Bank of America building.  
2012 Update: Todd Toconis, owner and principal broker of Town and Country Real Estate said his firm stopped marketing the project a year ago.

“There was no need or call for additional office space. The economic downturn negated the necessity for that project.”  
Todd Taconis
owner/principal broker, Town and Country Real Estate

The Gateway
Proposal Year: 2008
Location: Downtown Wilmington- Foot of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge near South Front Street
Project Summary: An 11-story complex with 260 condominium units, a restaurant, 40 boat slips and first-floor retail space.
2012 Update: Owners of the property — River-2-Sea, LLC — have since foreclosed on the property. Ron Pickett, Wilmington Gateway, LLC manager said his company was poised to build the condominium on the site. He said his firm was slated to purchase the land from River-2-Sea officials, but the deal tanked once lending for such developments dried up.

“The climate for such a development was unfortunate at the time,” Pickett said. “Should someone buy the property and express interest in the original project, then we can move forward with the development since the plans and zoning have already been approved.” 
Ron Pickett
manager, Wilmington Gateway, LLC

Belle Meade Centre
Proposal Year: 2004
Location: Monkey Junction-Carolina Beach Road
Project Summary: A 60-acre mixed-use development with a multi-screen cinema, 280,000 square feet of retail, a senior housing community and a 62-lot townhome development.
2012 Update: Matthew W. Di Gioia, who controls Atlantis Holding, LLC which owns the property, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last summer. But Di Gioia said tenant interest is picking up and an unnamed retailer is showing “serious” interest in its former cinema centerpiece location.

“Chapter 11 is an opportunity for reorganization,” Di Gioia said. “We’re seeing tenant interest increase and we’re always looking for synergy opportunities.”
Matthew W. Di Gioia
owner, Atlantis Holdings, LLC

The View on Water Street
Proposal Year: 2008
Location: Downtown Wilmington-Corner of Water and Front streets
Project Summary: An 11-story, 13,000-square-foot class-A office complex with ground-level retail and 59 residential units.   
2012 Update: After a rollercoaster ride through foreclosure and the auction block, the lot has a new owner. Matthew Mattera, principal and founder of Long Island, N.Y.-based InSource Financial Services said the group remains serious about bringing a luxury boutique hotel to the Port City.

“We’d love to put a luxury hotel on that site,” he said. “We feel very positive about Wilmington. We think it has a lot of potential.” 
Matthew Mattera
principal/founder, InSource Financial Services

Sawmill Point Marina
Proposal Year: 2005 
Location: Downtown Wilmington-Water Street 
Project Summary: Project was designed to include a 42-slip deepwater marina and 216 condominiums near the Isabel Holmes Bridge.
2012 Update: Brian Eckel, co-founder of Cape Fear Commercial is marketing the sale of the 8.06-acre property. He said the property, which was foreclosed on last summer, was recently up for contract, but the deal fell through. Eckel said the property sits on a prime location that is poised for development.

“We are still actively marketing the site,” he said. “The highest use is for luxury apartments with the potential for a condo conversion at a later date.” 
Brian Eckel
co-founder, Cape Fear Commercial