The Local Government Commission on Tuesday afternoon will consider whether to approve $70 million in financing that will allow the city of Wilmington to buy the former PPD headquarters campus. Separately, New Hanover County is asking the LGC, which has to approve most debt issued by local governments and public authorities in the state, to approve $25 mil ...

Bond-rating agencies Moody’s Investor Services and Standard & Poor’s have both assigned New Hanover County a Triple-A bond rating on its general obligation bonds, the highest rating possible, according to a county news release. New Hanover County has had a Triple-A bond rating with Moody’s since 2010, while S&P began rating the county at t ...

With a unanimous vote and a new start for the project, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners is moving forward with an agreement involving a county-owned block in downtown Wilmington. Through a development agreement approved Monday, the county is working with Wilmington-based firm Cape Fear Development to create new buildings on the block, bordere ...

New Hanover County and a Wilmington development firm could soon officially revive plans to transform a county-owned downtown block through a partnership. A new development agreement for the block, bordered by Chestnut, Grace, Second and North Third streets, is expected to be presented to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners at its meeting Monday, according to a ...

State Auditor Beth Wood expressed a little disbelief as Wilmington city officials explained to Wood and others on a state panel that most of the city's employees are not working remotely. Her comments were part of a larger discussion about Wilmington's plan for new office space. On Tuesday afternoon in Raleigh before the Local Government Commission (which includ ...

At the first of their two May meetings, the New Hanover County Commissioners took a second step toward the development of Blue Clay Business Park by awarding the contract for required infrastructure there.   County facilities project manager Kevin Caison asked the board to approve a contract with Wells Brothers Construction to install roadways as well as a sanitary ...

In an email Friday, city of Wilmington officials said the recommended budget for the next fiscal year will not include a 1.5-cent tax increase. The city's staff had anticipated proposing the increase to help fund the $70 million purchase of the northern downtown office complex owned by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. at 929 N. Front St. "The manager’s pr ...

Leland's community development planner has been promoted to the position of economic and community development director. Barnes Sutton will succeed current economic and community development director Gary Vidmar when Vidmar retires June 23, according to an announcement Wednesday. Sutton has been with the town of Leland since November 2021. Prior to that, he served a ...

As part of upcoming budget discussions, the Wilmington City Council will likely spend some time on how exactly the city could finance the purchase of the former PPD-now Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. campus in northern downtown. The transaction could require a 1.5-cent property tax increase, officials said, but council members indicated that this part of the deal is expe ...

The New Hanover County commissioners this week voted to accept bids for two parcels in the county-owned Blue Clay Business Park. Both proposals were submitted to the board by Scott Satterfield, CEO of Wilmington Business Development.   The first, dubbed Project Cab, is a potential expansion of Coastal Millwork Supply Co., which manufactures doors, cabinets and cl ...