Eugene "Gene" W. Merritt Jr., a retired real-estate developer and long-time civic activist, will be honored with the Wilmington Rotary Club’s second-ever Legacy Award.
"This honor was created in 2024 to recognize people who have made major contributions, over many years, to improving the quality of life in Wilmington and New Hanover County," according to a news release. "While part of the annual Leaders in Service awards, the Legacy Award will not necessarily be given every year."
The award to Merritt will be presented May 13 at the club’s fourth annual Leaders in Service Banquet. Merritt will receive the Legacy award alongside this year’s three Leaders in Service honorees, the release stated.
Starting in 1975, Merritt campaigned to revitalize the city’s decaying downtown.
"That led directly to the formation of the public-private partnership now known as Wilmington Downtown, Inc. Merritt led it during its critical first years, from 1978 through 1982," according to the release. "Accomplishments included business start-ups, renovation of historic buildings, and the first section of the Riverwalk, beginning the turnaround that made downtown Wilmington the thriving, popular destination it is today."
At the same time, Merritt was a leader in the campaign to reform how New Hanover County managed alcohol sales, the release stated.
"In 1978 and 1979, he pushed hard for the vote that permitted sale of liquor by the drink, a major contributor to the growth of the county’s dining and tourism sectors," according to the release.
Merritt and his late father, former State Rep. Eugene W. Merritt Sr., also led a last-ditch battle in the early 1980s that prevented a massive industrial facility – a coal-exporting terminal – from being built on the downtown waterfront, where the Wilmington Convention Center now stands, the release stated.
"During those same years, the Merritts were also agitating to get a desperately needed freeway built to connect Wilmington with the rest of the state. Starting in the late 1970s, they kept up public pressure on politicians and bureaucrats, both state and federal, to get an interstate highway to Wilmington included in the state’s road-building plan, and then to allocate enough money to get it built.," according to the release. "The ultimate result, after the 1984 elections, was a new governor’s promise to get I-40 fully funded during his first term, which is why the long-awaited freeway would finally be completed in 1990."
The release stated that among Merrit's other initiatives were obtaining revisions to state law and environmental regulations to permit dining on decks over public waters. Current efforts include lobbying to return passenger rail service to Wilmington and have landmark status granted to the century-old New Hanover High School building.
