WILMINGTON — Two projects are headed to the city’s technical review committee this week. One would bring another popular fast-food establishment to midtown, while downtown could see another hotel.
READ MORE: New commercial site with restaurant, retail coming to Castle Hayne Road
Both site plans have passed through pre-TRC meetings and now move to the formal assessment from the technical review committee.
Sixteen members from various departments — engineers, transportation officials, fire, utility authority — will discuss the plans June 27 to further evaluate building needs, permits and documentation, and ask more questions, ensuring plans follow city standards.
“No planning commission hearing is required for either proposal since both uses are by-right,” according to city spokesperson Lauren Edwards.
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A has submitted site plans to build at 604 and 608 Shipyard Boulevard on 2.4 acres, near the intersection of Shipyard Boulevard and Carolina Beach Road.
A four-unit strip mall is currently on the land — located beside a CVS pharmacy — and would be demolished for the build-out. A rezoning would not be required from regional business.
Plans, submitted by Bohler Engineering of Raleigh, show the Chick-fil-A would have a double-lane drive-through and accommodate 94 parking spaces. The restaurant will amass 5,400 square feet and seat 70 people inside, if it gets the green light.
There are three Chick-fil-As within a five-mile radius of the new location — one is inside Independence Mall, with a standalone restaurant located across the street in front of Hanover Center. Another is located near the Walmart Shopping Center in Monkey Junction.
According to the site plans, the Shipyard Boulevard eatery will be owned by Bret Ediston, out of Pittsford, NY. Port City Daily reached out to Edison but did not hear back by press.
The property is currently listed as owned by 604 608 Shipyard Boulevard LLC, purchased for $274,000 in 2022.
Hanover Street hotel
Downtown Wilmington will be getting another hotel, if site concepts pass through city planning.
Ideal Hospitality Investments, out of Georgia, is in the beginning phase of bringing a hotel at Brunswick and Nutt streets, near Pier 33 Apartments and Riverfront Park. Two buildings will be seven stories — not to exceed 96 feet — and take up a little more than half of the 1.27 acres at 1 Hanover Street.
There will be 340 guest rooms between both buildings, conjoined by an 18-space parking lot facing North Front Street.
Currently vacant, Ideal owns the land, according to site plans devised by CJMW Architecture in Raleigh. The property is listed via New Hanover County records as last purchased by Circle Marina Car Wash LLC for $2.8 million in 2019.
Ideal Hospitality Investments is a hotel management company with a portfolio consisting of Hilton, Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, and La Quinta accommodations. Mehal Patel owns the firm, which is behind other recent hotel projects in town, including Home 2 Suites by Hilton at Barclay Pointe.
Port City Daily reached out to Patel to ask which hotel he is planning for the downtown site; an answer was not received by press. The city also wasn’t aware of the hotel brand.
Currently zoned central business district, the hotel property won’t need to undergo a rezoning.
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