A 12.2-acre parcel at 6800 Wrightsville Ave. could move from Wrightsville Beach to Wilmington without displacing so much as a molecule of dirt.

Actions by the Wrightsville Beach Town Council and Wilmington City Council Tuesday cleared the way for the property, site of the defunct Galleria Shopping Center, to be de-annexed by Wrightsville Beach and annexed by Wilmington. Both municipalities approved an interlocal agreement, which Wrightsville Beach town manager Tim Owens said requires Wilmington to pay $7,224 in property taxes for the parcel for the next four years and then $30,000 a year to Wrightsville Beach for the following 25 years.

The lower amount represents current tax revenue from the property; the higher amount is an estimation of tax revenue expected to be generated once the property is redeveloped, according to an email from City of Wilmington spokeswoman Malissa Talbert.   

The property owner, Charlotte-based State Street-Galleria LLC, wants to create a mixed-use development on the parcel, which currently is zoned C-5, allowing for commercial uses only.

“The C-5 zoning is inconsistent with what [the owner] wants to do,” Owens said, adding that State Street-Galleria had never applied for a zoning change, which probably would not have been considered by Wrightsville Beach, anyway.

“We also have a 40-foot height restriction, which would probably not work for them,” Owens said.

While the two municipalities have approved the agreement, the property’s geographic status cannot change without enabling legislation from the N.C. General Assembly. Talbert said that the local approvals needed to act quickly to allow time for that legislation to pass during the General Assembly’s current short session.

The property owner is responsible for requesting that such a bill be introduced in the legislature, Owens said, adding that he had no idea which legislator would be asked to submit the bill.

A similar de-annexation request for the property came before Wrightsville Beach Town Council last June, proposed by Equity One Inc., the Galleria’s former owner. The council turned down the request. Since then, the property has been purchased by State Street and the current offer’s terms are better, Owens said, referring to the tax reimbursement stipulations.

“The property is essentially surrounded by Wilmington city limits already, so no additional cost for services is anticipated,” Talbert said in her email.

“This represents a win-win opportunity for both of our communities,” Wilmington mayor Bill Saffo said in the email.