Wilmington council approves $7M stormwater project to reduce New Centre Dr. flooding

The Wilmington City Council approved a massive stormwater project at its meeting Tuesday night to address flooding in a major problem area of the city.

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Wilmington City Council approved a massive stormwater project at its meeting Tuesday night to address flooding in a major problem area of the city.

A more than $7-million dollar construction contract will implement the Clear Run Branch and College Acres Drive drainage improvements project to help reduce the extreme flooding on New Centre Drive. The improvements include new box culverts under College Acres Drive and Mallard Street as well as new pavement and sidewalks along College Acres Drive.

Mayor Bill Saffo says it’s the biggest stormwater mitigation project the city’s ever undertaken.

“It’s a public safety issue first and foremost and getting that water out of there so we can travel to and from Market Street to College Road is going to be critically important to us, especially in the aftermath of a hurricane or any kind of natural disaster we have seen in the past so we’re very excited about this,” Saffo said. “We’ve been working on it for quite some time.

The city will apply for a $250,000 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation to help pay for phase one of the project.

Council is also making room for more employees by unanimously voting to buy the Harrelson Building on North Third Street for $11-million. The purchase also includes the parking lot next to the building.

Mayor Saffo says the city considered tearing down and renovating buildings the city already owns to make room for additional offices, but purchasing another building was less expensive and they will be able to restore a historic building this way.

Currently, the city leases part of the Harrelson Building and Saffo says these properties will play an important role in satisfying the city’s current and future office space needs.

Finally, the council voted to approve the sale of alcohol for a new, free concert series.

Hosted by the Downtown Business Alliance, the Downtown Alive Concert Series will be held on Saturdays from 5 pm to 9 pm from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend along Chesnut Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets. The concerts will feature a mix of local musicians and regional touring bands.

The move to create the concert series comes just weeks after Wilmington Downtown Incorporated announced the Downtown Sundown Concerts would not return.

Mayor Pro-tem Margaret Haynes says she hopes the series will help bring people downtown.

“It’s always been seen having concerts as an economic development engine and so these will be held more in the center of town, as you know they’re going to be on Chestnut Street between second and third,” Haynes said.

Haynes is a member of the Downtown Business Alliance Board, so she did recuse herself from the vote to allow alcohol sales at the events.