Idea for Wilmington Public Market Spurred by CFF Trip

In November 2009, a group of Wilmington business leaders and elected officials visited Charleston, SC for a series of meetings, presentations and site visits tied to the Cape Fear Future initiative. Topics included downtown development, CVB promotion, planning, design and historic preservation. The group met with Mayor Riley, top level officials from a variety of agencies (CVB, SC Aquarium, Charleston Civic Center, Preservation Society, Gibbes Museum of Art and many more), as well as developers, architects, and other private business owners.

The site visit to the Charleston public market has led to a proposal to create a public market in Wilmington again. The addition of a public market in Downtown Wilmington would enhance quality of place and encourage additional growth, development and economic benefits within the Central Business District.

A public market also supports recommendations made in the Vision 2020 plan and would help reconnect citizens with downtown Wilmington and the riverfront, increase off-peak visitation, and enhance the identity of Wilmington as a unique place. Not to mention that it would establish a living symbol of the city’s heritage: a market once stood in the middle of Market Street (which the street name was derived from) between Front and Water Street, but was demolished in 1881.

Learn more about the Wilmington Public Market at: www.wilmingtonpublicmarket.org