Several major recreation projects are in the works in the Wilmington area. While the organizers of all the ventures hope to provide their communities with a variety of recreational opportunities, some projects are closer to fruition than others.
 
The Wilmington Aquatic Center and ACCESS Inclusive Recreation Center are part of the plan for the Olsen Farm Recreation Village, a transformative development on the Olsen Farm property adjacent to Interstate 40 at Murrayville Road.

The complex is set to include indoor and outdoor Olympic-sized pools and will integrate trails, green spaces and gathering areas.

The destination will be made possible with the help of property owners Peggy Olsen and Chip Hicks, and “will serve as a welcoming gateway to Wilmington,” according to a news release.

With the 135-acre recreation village, Hicks continues over 25 years of development of Olsen Farm, including the Olsen Farm Soccer Fields and Olsen Park, according to the release.

The groups working on the project will seek funding from government sources, corporations and foundations, as well as other support, said Celia Wolff, of the Wilmington Aquatic Center team.

Wolff said the goal is to open the WAC and ACCESS Inclusive Recreation Center in 2028.

Similarly, the YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina has plans to expand its footprint across the Wilmington area.

The organization purchased the Temple Baptist Activity Center at 709 George Anderson Drive in midtown Wilmington in a $3.5 million transaction last year. The Y has operated its midtown location there since 2016 in partnership with Temple Baptist Church.

The New Hanover Community Endowment awarded the YMCA a $4 million grant in December to help fund the development of the midtown location, which YMCA leaders envision as a full-service facility complete with aquatics and child care, said Dick Jones, CEO of the YMCA SENC.

The organization also has plans to expand its reach in northern New Hanover County. In early May, the YMCA secured a rezoning for about 50 acres of undeveloped land along Sidbury Road.

Another project in the early stages of development is Optimism Oasis, a proposed 20-acre athletic and cultural center on Wilmington’s Northside.

Optimism Oasis founder Tracy McCullen developed the vision for the complex about five years ago. The project aims to bring athletic facilities to the Northside community and create a center to draw sports competitions and athletes from across the region. The project would be located on land adjacent to the existing Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern North Carolina at 901 Nixon St.

Philip Brown, a former Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center executive, is a staunch supporter of Optimism Oasis and chairs the organization’s seven-member board. Brown said the project’s fate is in the hands of New Hanover County Schools, which owns a large parcel of the land slated for development.

“This is an important piece of the puzzle – 15% is owned by the Boys & Girls Clubs, but a big chunk of the land belongs to the school system,” Brown said. “Without a donation or sale from New Hanover County Schools, we are at their mercy.”

Brown emphasizes how the project “honors the historic Northside community, which has gone without a lot of the facilities that other parts of the community have had.”

Project leaders with the Northside Oasis of Wilmington, a nonprofit organization, plan to present a comprehensive business plan from the sports facilities companies the organization is working with, as well as a proof of concept from architecture firm Perkins & Will, to the New Hanover County Board of Education, along with their request for land.

Supporters say the project would be a game changer for the Northside community as well as area schools and the downtown business district.

“This is right in what could be the heart of Wilmington. New Hanover County is a little behind in its infrastructure in terms of our growth, and there’s a collective need of facilities for our school system and within the community itself,” Brown said. “There are jobs to be generated within the companies that will be a part of that work; there is potential for a large economic impact when the facility is complete. Once we start hosting events, the downtown businesses stand to benefit tremendously from the walkability of the location. This opens up so many potential benefits.”

McCullen, who has served on the Boys & Girls Clubs board of directors, said the organization would have full access to the entire complex.

“The Optimism Oasis will be an indirect extension of the Boys & Girls Clubs,” McCullen said.

The site had once been a railroad switching yard, so there are environmental concerns. Their due diligence must be done in order to make sure the land is safe from an environmental standpoint. Before moving forward with development, the site might need environmental mitigation, and these unknown variables may slow the process.

“Before we can put a shovel in the ground, we need to know those answers; we couldn’t build on ground that was not safe,” Brown said.

In addition, public feedback is an integral element that the organization has prioritized. Community meetings are planned on the Northside for later this month and in February at various locations, including the Boys & Girls Clubs, UNCW’s DC Virgo Preparatory Academy and Warner Temple AME Zion Church.

“If we have the land donated by summer, we do our due diligence with the environmental testing, we will be in a position one year from now to put shovels in the ground,” McCullen said.

Brown said, “This large parcel of land has been underutilized for decades, but the vision has reached a height of possibility.”