19, 20 story twin towers proposed for Wilmington

[NCMike1981]

West bank of Cape Fear may get pair of skyscrapers

Would be between Memorial Bridge and Battleship

19 and 20 floor towers are proposed across the river from downtown Wilmington....I always thought the area across from downtown needed something to be built aside from just the Battleship....

http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...011/1004/news01

[orulz]

Wow. Now that would change Wilmington's skyline. With the extension of utilities to the west bank, the whole area will be open to development. It sounds like a great plan to me.

A problem with expanding downtown Wilmington to the west bank is that there are no surface street bridges over the Cape Fear river. All the bridges are freeways. To cross the river, you have to drive, and you have to get on a freeway and then get off on the other side. This is a common problem in the US - bridges are bottlenecks so we convert them to freeways to maximize their capacity at the expense of local traffic and pedestrians.

Although I'd like to see a pedestrian or vehicular bridge from Market Street downtown straight to Battleship Road, I realize it would either need to be very tall or be moveable, like a bascule or lift bridge. Either option would be expensive. Not to mention that funneling cross-river traffic straight onto Market Street might cause more congestion downtown.

At least until a bridge can be built, a water taxi across the Cape Fear (included in the proposal) is a great idea. Condo owners and presumably hotel guests would get a free pass on the taxi, but I wonder how much the fare would be for other folks? It's only about 200 yards across the river at that point so the crossing would take a couple minutes at most.

A historical question: was there ever a bridge across the Cape Fear at Market Street, or was it always a ferry?

[NcSc74]

Its about time. I figured the reason for lack of development on that side was due to the swampland and environmental concerns. I want this so bad for Wilmington. Lookout for this city because it is a diamond in the rough. Wilmington has just as much history and charm than the other more noteable southern coastal cities. All it needs is a chance to shine. I also want the skyway to be built...

[urbanesq]

Intersting stuff.

Of course, I'm a purest, but I tend to want the tallest buildings to be in downtown proper.

That said, it'll be interesting to see how th edevelopment pattern across the river works out. Isn't the river is pretty wide there? I don' t know how much it will add to Wilmington's skyline, but those buildings will have awesome views.

[orulz]

The river downtown is about 600 feet wide, which is roughly as wide as one city block in Charlotte or Raleigh. Not narrow, but it's no Mississippi River either.

[NCMike1981]

It's nearly impossible to get anything of substantial height built in downtown proper, so this area across the river, and possibly the extreme northern edge of downtown are Wilmington's best shots at tallish buildings....

[Eastwestrob]

Ok....go ahead and make it a single building at 39 floors and claim the "second tallest city in N.C" title....LOL

[urbanesq]

The river downtown is about 600 feet wide, which is roughly as wide as one city block in Charlotte or Raleigh. Not narrow, but it's no Mississippi River either.

ok, thanks. It seems wider than that when one is standing there looking across, or driving over the bridge, doesn't it?

It's nearly impossible to get anything of substantial height built in downtown proper, so this area across the river, and possibly the extreme northern edge of downtown are Wilmington's best shots at tallish buildings....

true, but is that just a political barrier? Seems like it could be overcome to avoid the densest development going across the river-- that's Brunswick Co. over there, right?

[NCMike1981]

it's barely in New Hanover actually...there's a thin strip of New Hanover across the river....for instance the Battleship is actually in New Hanover....

I think alot of the height regulations in wilmington come from a mixture of politics as well as Nimbys of sort....then again I'd be concerned if too many buildings were torn down in the center of downtown....

[RiverwoodCLT]

I did not know that the soil there would support a building of this size.

[Hotlanta]

I did not know that the soil there would support a building of this size.

Yeah same here, I thought that that land was right at sea level and was swampy. I'd like to see these towers be built near Wrightsville Beach. Then again, I doubt these will get built but you never know.

[orulz]

Yeah, I figured unstable soil was the reason nothing got built across the river downtown. Although, if you dig down deep enough, you'll hit bedrock, pretty much no matter where you are. It just gets more expensive as the bedrock gets deeper.

[MR-2]

Yeah same here, I thought that that land was right at sea level and was swampy. I'd like to see these towers be built near Wrightsville Beach. Then again, I doubt these will get built but you never know.

I would like to see these kinds of towers go on the proper side of the river, in downtown, or in Wrightsville, so they can benefit the skyline and the pedestrian atmosphere. I would suspect there are areas across the river that aren't swampy, and whoever's building there intends for a very suburban style complex with a big parking lot.

[RiverwoodCLT]

I have hear that as long as it is not in downtown Wilmington, 19 or 20 story would be ok. Only problem in Wimington is the soil, in many places, the soil will not support a tall building.

[MR-2]

I have hear that as long as it is not in downtown Wilmington, 19 or 20 story would be ok. Only problem in Wimington is the soil, in many places, the soil will not support a tall building.

The soil should be bad everywhere, especially across the river from downtown. They can excavate until they reach bedrock though.

[ChiefJoJo]

I would like to see these kinds of towers go on the proper side of the river, in downtown, or in Wrightsville

Traffic during the summer months is bad enough in Wrightsville without twin towers. I can't imagine that would be a good idea. Anything that size would work much better in DT Wilmington.