The city of Wilmington and local consulting firms are holding a workshop Saturday to get ideas from residents about how to redevelop a key downtown property --  the former Coca-Cola bottling and distribution facility at North 10th and Princess streets -- and surrounding areas.

According to a news release Wednesday, the local firms that will be involved in the workshop are CIII Associates and Sage Design. The session will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the New Hanover High School cafeteria, 1307 Market. St., with refreshments provided. 

"Residents will be asked to brainstorm options for redeveloping the area, which is becoming known as the Soda Pop District. Nearby property owners, residents, business owners, and other stakeholders are encouraged to attend," the city's release said. "Input from the workshop will be used to develop some initial design ideas that will be presented for further citizen feedback at a follow-up meeting in a few weeks."
 
According to the release, the Coca-Cola facility is one of the sites the city has identified as a potential Brownsfield site, which is an abandoned or under-used property where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by possible environmental contaminants.

"Because Wilmington is growing quickly and only has about 13 percent of buildable land left for development, redeveloping these sites is a key tenet in the city comprehensive plan," a concept explained in a short video on the city's website, the release said.

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated sold the property, which consists of several parcels, last year for $1.5 million to Osprey Lands LLC.

In January, developer and new owner Jim McFarland said his company would most likely turn the site into mainly a retail center with the possibility of a grocery store and restaurant becoming components, but specific uses had yet to be determined at that time.