A Wilmington architect thinks current plans to develop the Water Street parking deck property squander the last opportunity to design a unique and creative riverfront park and commercial center in historic downtown.

Michael Moorefield said he created a conceptual design for the site to illustrate how all the various interests – park space, parking space and commercial development – can be met by one design. He presented his ideas to the City Council Tuesday night during a public hearing to help decide the future of the deck.

“Our main goal is to show that park-making and urban development is not about deal-making,” Moorefield said. “It’s about design ideas.”

The city and PB&G Partners, a group made up of developer Gene Merritt and Peg and Bud Dealey, are already under contract to develop the property. PB&G wants to build Verrazzano on the River, a mix of condo, retail, parking and park space.

Moorefield proposes turning Bijou Park into a tree-lined pedestrian thoroughfare that leads out into a large park where the parking deck currently sits. Retail shops and restaurants would wrap around the green space, which would include a series of terraces leading to Water Street and the Riverwalk below.

The need for parking would be solved by building a parking deck along Water Street and beneath the park.

“I’ve always felt like that space on the river was a perfect place for a public, urban space,” Moorefield said. “This I see as the last chance for urban design in the city because all the other chances have been lost.”

Moorefield said he is unsure if his ideas will be seriously considered and understands the city and the developer are already under contract. But he hopes his ideas can be a starting point to “see a win-win situation” for the city.

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