New Hanover Regional Medical Center is expected to demolish the former Wilmington Athletic Club to make way for a surface parking lot late this summer or in early fall, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

NHRMC purchased the former WAC property, 2026 S. 16th St., for $3 million in December and is already using it for some parking after filling in the swimming pool. NHRMC also bought the adjacent 1635 Doctors Circle, a .41-acre property that used to hold a medical office, for $330,000 in March. 

Norris & Tunstall Consulting Engineers recently submitted site plans to the city of Wilmington that propose 295 employee parking spaces, 20 bike spaces and a shuttle loading zone for NHRMC employees at 2026 S. 16th St. and 1635 Doctors Circle.

The late summer/early fall timeline for demolition of the former WAC building, a two-story structure, depends on permitting, said Claire Parker, spokeswoman for NHRMC. The plans are expected to be discussed at a city of Wilmington Technical Review Committee meeting on Thursday.

Parker said the hospital intends to use the new surface lot as an employee parking area for as long as needed. 

"When and if there is a need to bring medical services to a location closer to our main campus, we will evaluate the possibility of using this space at that time," Parker said in an email.
 
 She said the new lot is expected to open for employee parking by the end of the year. 

At the same time, crews are preparing to raise a skywalk, a pedestrian bridge, that will sit nearly 22 feet above 17th Street and be connected to a 720-space five-story employee parking garage currently under construction next to the Walgreen's. 

NHRMC employees will use the bridge to cross over 17th Street to the NHRMC campus, where they will descend and walk up to the NHRMC Betty H. Cameron Women’s & Children’s Hospital entrance, according to NHRMC.

"The covered skywalk will be able to withstand hurricane-force winds and will be accessible only to NHRMC employees," the NHRMC website says.

McKinley Building Corp. crews are expected to place the skywalk during the evening of Aug. 26, Parker said. The cost of the skywalk and garage has been estimated at $18 million.