4 takeaways from the StarNews' deep dive into the future of Wilmington's west bank

The future of the west bank of the Cape Fear River once again seems to hang in the balance.

For more than a year, local leaders, developers and other stakeholders have debated the future of the marshy land across the river from downtown Wilmington. It's a once-in-a-generation land-use decision with the potential to re-shape the city's skyline.

Reporters Emma Dill and John Staton have spent months delving into the debate surrounding the controversial issue. Should the land be commercial development, shared public space, or a bit of both? What political, economic and cultural forces are shaping the historic waterway that defines life in the Port City?

Here's what you need to know about the ongoing debate over the future of the west bank.

Developers want to build on Wilmington's west bank. Is that even feasible?

It's a basic question with a complicated answer, but determining whether development is feasible on the Cape Fear River's west bank heavily factors into its future. Environmental advocates have raised the alarm about future flooding and sea level rise, but developers say they're taking the flooding into account and that anything can be engineered. Who is right?

West bank development: New Hanover leaders push for guidelines, not control. Here's why

The land at the center of the west bank debate is located in − but not owned by − New Hanover County. That means county leaders can only do so much when it comes to controlling development on the Cape Fear River's west bank.

A 'vision plan' exists for a public park on Eagles Island, but the reality is complicated

In 2021, at the behest of the Eagles Island Central Park Task Force, North Carolina State University's Coastal Dynamics Design Lab published an in-depth look at what a park on Eagles Island might look like. The plan includes possible locations for such amenities as hiking trails, boat launches, an educational center and more. It also notes roadblocks, including the difficulty of convincing more than a half a dozen private landowners to put their land into conservation. Complicating the effort is the current lack of a way for members of the public who might be interested in a park to get involved, or to even support the idea in a substantive way.

Meet the people deciding the future of Wilmington's west bank

From local leaders and environmental advocates to high-powered developers, there are a lot of people who have a stake in what happens on the "other" side of the river. In this story, we highlight the players, what they think about the west bank's future and how they could affect its outcome.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington's west bank: What you need to know