1996 Story: Proposed Eight-Story Building Could Have Made Wilmington 'Raleigh by the River

1996 Story: Proposed Eight-Story Building Could Have Made Wilmington ‘Raleigh by the River

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Downtown Wilmington once faced a debate over a proposed eight-story development that threatened to turn the Cape Fear River city into a “Raleigh by the river,” according to a story published in the Wilmington Morning Star on Nov. 15, 1996.

Years before developments like River Place and the PPD building—now owned by the city and called Skyline Center—reshaped the downtown look along the Cape Fear River, a developer advanced a plan for a 54,000-square-foot building on Market Street.

Kerr Drug Store was already set to lease the first level of the project. While a two-story design had already won approval from the city, adding six stories for residential or office space required approval from the Wilmington Historic District Commission.

The proposal sparked discussions about the city’s skyline and downtown environment.

one downtown resident said if the project was approved.

Another resident said the development would be out of whack with the rest of the street.

Then city councilman Harper Peterson expressed concern that the project would harm downtown Wilmington’s pedestrian friendly environment. However, fellow councilman Frank Conlon did not see an issue with the height, stating that

“it blends in with other buildings,” Conlon said.

Proponents of the height pointed to other nearby taller buildings, which included the Trust Building at the corner of Market and Front streets, the Murchison Building—then called the First Union Building—on North Front Street, and the Cape Fear Hotel Apartments on Chestnut Street.

Ultimately, the eight-story building did not come to fruition. In its place today is a small parking lot and the entrance to the Market Street Parking Garage.

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