The Left Bank of the Seine in Paris it isn’t.
But there’s still something alluring about the west bank of the Cape Fear River as it streams through downtown Wilmington.
For some, it’s the lack of buildings and the embrace of nature so close to an urban area.
For others, the lure of empty riverfront land across from a thriving downtown is a missed opportunity, an eyesore waiting for a solution. If Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, S.C., can develop their other riverfronts, why can’t Wilmington?
Developers for decades have toyed with the idea of building on the limited high ground amid the soggy marshes and forests of Eagles Island and Point Peter dotted between the remains of the area’s maritime past.
But a lack of infrastructure and direction from local officials, along with concerns about the viability of any major developments among the sensitive environmental wetlands, doomed those earlier plans.
Interest in the future of the west bank was rekindled two years ago when developers floated proposals to build a pair of high-density projects along the riverfront. Those plans prompted a conservation group to launch an effort to raise $16 million to purchase and conserve the land, an effort that ultimately failed.