The Week in Review
......your Wilmington Connection
August 9, 2008
Summertime in the port city is a wonderful time. So many things to do, and with the beach here you feel like you are on vacation all year long. Thinking of relocating? Contact me and I can get you a relocation package out in the mail. As you can see Wilmington is a growing city with house prices holding pretty steady now.
Wilmington's home equity ranks high in 'Forbes' list
If the local housing market has got you down, take some heart from another of Forbes' lists of superlatives and negatives.
Wilmington ranks No. 20 in the magazine's list of cities with the most home equity. Home equity as a percent of home value was 61 percent in Wilmington, or $117,470, Forbes said, down from 64 percent in 2007.
The drop in year-over-year figures was true most places, but Wilmington's and others stood in stark contrast to Sacramento, Calif., and Grand Rapids, Mich., where home equity is 28 percent, falling from 57 percent and 46 percent, respectively, two years ago, Forbes said.
Southern cities dominated the top 20 list. The city with the most equity was Beaumont, Texas, 75 percent at $76,458; followed by Corpus Christi; Gulfport, Miss.; Charleston, W.Va.; and El Paso.
But cities outside the South also were on the list: Honolulu; Utica and Binghamton, N.Y.; Allentown and Scranton, Pa.; and Atlantic City.
Forbes used data from Moody's Economy.com on the country's 200 largest metro areas. Housing values have dropped 7.7 percent nationwide since last year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Belville's mixed development project plan
Belville | The old downtown on the Brunswick River looks as it did a year ago, when bulldozers had brought down its abandoned Cookery and a motel of questionable activities.
According to Michael White, partner in the downtown Belville redevelopment plan, a lot of work is being done and hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to prepare that area for change. Boutiques, condos, a marina and a boardwalk will eventually replace that faded landscape off N.C. 133, but it's a long, complicated process until then, White said.
The study shows that the revamped downtown - which White expects to be completed within 10 to 15 years - "can compete really well with the riverfront" in Wilmington, consultant Erica Champion said.
Belville's mixed development project would allow people to live and shop in a waterfront district without the traffic congestion of the Wilmington area.
Developer wants to build across river from PPD tower
The study shows it would be possible to build 338 condos, each at 1,070 square feet and going for $330,000; 70 waterview condos at 1,480 square feet and $523,000; and 70 waterfront condos or penthouses, at 1,980 square feet for a pricier $793,000. A hotel could also go in, along with a combined 281,700 square feet of retail and office space, the study says.
But whether plans to build an 11-story condominium tower can overcome problems, namely the lack of utilities, that have derailed other high-profile projects proposed for that side of the riverfront remains to be seen.
Taking advantage of New Hanover County's newest zoning district, the developers of Harbor Landing are proposing to cluster 108 condominiums in an 11-story building just south of the existing Point Harbor Marina.
The county Planning Board on Thursday unanimously approved the rezoning of the roughly 5-acre parcel from industrial to riverfont mixed-use, and the county commissioners will now take the issue up next month.
The mixed-use designation, which is allowed for about 130 riverfront acres stretched between the Cape Fear Memorial and Isabel Holmes bridges, gives developers the option of adding density in exchange for protecting public access to the water and retaining open space.
Planning officials hope it also helps promote new projects in riverfront areas where the legacy of Wilmington's marine past, along with environmental concerns and that the land is mostly in the 100-year floodplain, makes redevelopment difficult and expensive.
Along with the 144-foot building, which would encompass some commercial uses and three levels of parking, the proposed project would include a riverfront boardwalk, docks and 120-foot pedestrian pier.
....until next week in the Week in Review
Tina
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