Wallace town council discusses downtown apartments

By Abby Cavenaugh

Duplin Journal‌

The potential for downtown apartments — especially ground-level, accessible apartments — was a huge part of the Wallace Town Council’s regular monthly meeting on Thursday night, April 11.

Town Manager Rob Taylor and Planning Director Rod Fritz have been having discussions recently about an ordinance to govern residential spaces downtown, because as Fritz said, there are many downtown buildings that are not being used.

As part of the discussion, developer EB Pannkuk addressed the board, sharing information about similar historic preservation projects he’s worked on in downtown Wilmington. He said he’d like to see downtown Wallace prosper as downtown Wilmington has.

“I think everybody here has seen a marked improvement in the historic district north of the railroad tracks,” he said. “On Railroad Street, those buildings haven’t necessarily been taken care of. That sense of prosperity is not really present on Railroad Street. What I’d like to see is more development in that area to restore historical buildings.”

There are limited opportunities in downtown Wallace currently, Pannkuk said, which translates to many of the businesses on “the wrong side of the tracks” not necessarily thriving. “The other thing I think in general is a problem is not having first-floor apartments because there’s really no handicap-accessible units downtown anywhere,” he said.

Wallace realtor Curt Simpson shared that he gets calls every day from people seeking rentals, even though he works exclusively in real estate sales. There’s office space available downtown, but many people now work from home. “So if you want people downtown, and you put apartments down there, you’re going to have people downtown,” he said. “They’re looking for places where they can live and work at the same time.”

Mayor Jason Wells made a lengthy statement on his feelings about creating more living space downtown, whether it’s in upstairs apartments or ground level ones.

He admitted that the buildings are old, and the town has already had to tear down the former Market Furniture building due to the fire. “I don’t want to get into the business of having to tear buildings down because they’re not being used,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of houses coming, we’ve got a lot of commercial property coming. What’s going to keep people downtown? Is it going to be change and growth, or are we going to keep downtown the same and have to tear part of it down?”

“If you wanna sit here and stare at some empty buildings,” he continued, “then we don’t need to do anything. … What I am talking about is looking at some options that would allow for a handicapped person to have an accessible apartment. Just because it hasn’t been done doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”

Taylor said he would work on drafting an ordinance, and bring it before the council at the May meeting.

Also at the April 11 meeting, the council approved the master plan for Clement Park. As Taylor pointed out, a public forum on the park’s master plan was held in March. “There are two grant opportunities here,” he said. “We’re going to put in for an accessibility grant and the original PARTF grant.”

The existing playground will be moved to Dobbins Park, and will be replaced with an inclusive playground, which the town hopes an accessibility grant will help pay for. The PARTF (Parks and Recreation Trust Fund) grant portion of the plan, which is estimated to be about $250,000, includes tennis courts, a multi-use field, pickleball courts and some shade areas, as well as new parking areas. Some of those items may have to be trimmed, Taylor said, depending upon the grant awarded.

In other business, the council:

• Approved tax releases totaling $65.27.
• Approved the purchase of new radios for the fire department. Fire radios will be changing frequencies on Jan. 1, 2025. The funding totals $112,000, less $45,000 in Covid funds that were approved in November 2023.
• Approved a one-year lease for 45 acres of farmland at Farrior Park, at a cost of $55 per acre, or $2,500.
• Approved the appointment of Logan Brown to the library board for a six-year term ending in 2029.
• Approved the sale of a piece of property at the corner of North Norwood Street and East Murphy Street. The property will be advertised and then sold on GovDeals.com.
• Reappointed Mayor Pro Tem Francisco Rivas Diaz as the town’s voting delegate for the North Carolina League of Municipalities.