City of Wilson issued the following announcement.
Now that the BB&T Towers have been demolished, work will begin on the new Pine-Nash Street District, a project that will transform the Pine and Nash Street block in downtown Wilson. The initial plans for the site were announced in October 2019, when the City announced the creation of a master development plan for the site. The plan includes the donation of a portion of the former BB&T Towers site to the Healthcare Foundation of Wilson for the future shared home of an afterschool network for middle school youth and the Wilson Family YMCA.
Also in October 2019, the City announced that NSV Development will create a large-scale residential/retail mixed-use development fronting Pine and Nash Streets.
“When BB&T made such a bold commitment to build a new facility in downtown Wilson, we realized we needed to be strategic, using that investment to build momentum and leverage additional investment,” said Grant Goings, Wilson City Manager. “We believe the impact of this block will be tremendous, a community-changing development of a scale unseen by cities of Wilson’s size.”
Then in February 2020, the City Council approved the Pine-Nash Street District master development agreement. The entire project brings nearly $100 million in investment in downtown Wilson. The mixed-use development, which will front Pine Street, is expected to include retail on the ground floor with 200-250 apartments above. The city will construct a parking garage on the land behind the YMCA, providing valuable infrastructure for future development of the district.
Attracting downtown residents has been a long-term objective of the city in its downtown development efforts.
“Downtown residents are key to our future viability,” said Goings. “This project will deliver a product that does not currently exist in Wilson and is rarely seen outside of metropolitan areas. People that have never considered living in our downtown will be attracted to this offering.”
“The City is being very intentional with our decision making because we only get one shot to get this right,” said Goings when the master development agreement was approved. “The Council believes that a master development agreement protects our public investments in the district and ensures a final product that is complementary to our community and a catalyst for future investment.”
Cleanup of the demolition will continue into early 2021, with construction expected to begin immediately after. Construction in the district will continue for several years.
Original source can be found here.
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