A virtual community roundtable Tuesday will focus on Project Grace, a $107 million project that would transform a New Hanover County-owned block in downtown Wilmington into new public and private facilities.

Wilmington Downtown Inc. President and CEO Holly Childs will share the current vision and next steps with panelists who include:  

• Dane Scalise, WDI Board Chair
• Jennifer Rigby, Chief Strategy Officer, New Hanover County
• Adam Tucker, Director of Development, Zimmer Development Company
• Chris Boney, Chief Relationships Officer, LS3P
• Natalie English, President & CEO, Wilmington Chamber of Commerce

Because of a large number of people planning to attend the Zoom discussion, the session, which takes place beginning at 6 p.m Tuesday, will be live-streamed here, according to a WDI email Monday.

The site is a 3-acre, county-owned block in downtown Wilmington, bordered by Grace, Third, Chestnut and Second streets that includes the historic former Belk-Beery building, which is occupied by the main branch of the New Hanover County Public Library. 

In a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) from developer Zimmer Development Co., the project could include a new public library and a new location for the Cape Fear Museum, as well as a private development, potentially in the form of apartments and retail.

In addition, the public facilities could hold 75,000-square-feet of city offices. With the museum and library, the offices would create a civic and arts district in downtown Wilmington.

The MOU is scheduled to be considered by the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners on March 15.