Last summer, when New Hanover County donated land for one of two medical clinics funded by Michael Jordan, officials said the second clinic would be built on donated land from the city of Wilmington.

But now, those plans seem to have fallen through.

Initially, Novant Health was considering an empty lot at the corner of North 10th and Fanning streets for the second clinic. The Northside lot, which sits across the street from DREAMS of Wilmington, is overgrown with tall grass and surrounded by a chain link fence.

Last summer, when New Hanover County donated land for one of two medical clinics funded by Michael Jordan, officials said the second clinic would be built on donated land from the city of Wilmington.

But now, those plans seem to have fallen through.

Initially, Novant Health was considering an empty lot at the corner of North 10th and Fanning streets for the second clinic. The Northside lot, which sits across the street from DREAMS of Wilmington, is overgrown with tall grass and surrounded by a chain link fence.

The lot is one of several the city of Wilmington presented to Novant to build the clinic, according to Jennifer Dandron, media manager for the city of Wilmington.

“Ultimately, they decided to look for other properties that better fit their vision of the clinic,” Dandron wrote in an email to the StarNews, “which includes looking at properties that are not city-owned.”

Novant Health is currently “undergoing due diligence in purchasing land” for the second clinic, according to Media Relations Coordinator Julian March. Novant expects to announce the location of the second clinic this summer.

The clinic will be located in the city of Wilmington and is being selected by evaluating various criteria, including locations with challenges accessing medical care, sites near community agencies that support upward mobility, and places that align with certain demographic data, according to Novant Health.

“We evaluated site locations using search criteria that was intentional to ensure these clinics are positioned to have the greatest impact on health equity gaps and best meet the needs of the community,” March wrote in an email to the StarNews.

When selecting the site of the first clinic, Phillip Brown, chief community impact officer at Novant Health, told the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners that Novant consulted local nonprofit Cape Fear Collective to identify locations with the greatest need.

Land at the corner of 15th and Greenfield streets was transferred from New Hanover County to Novant Health last summer, under the conditions that work on the clinic start in the next five years and the site remain in public use.A roughly 7,500-square-foot medical office is planned for the site. The building will offer an array of services, including primary care, behavioral health, physical therapy, social work and support services, oral health and family planning.

Novant expects rezoning, project design and permitting approval for the site to take between six and nine months while construction of the facility is expected to take a year. The clinic is expected to open in the spring of 2023. The second clinic is set to be completed in 2024.

More than a year ago, Novant announced Wilmington native and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan had donated $10 million to help open the two new medical clinics in New Hanover County.

Jordan previously partnered with Novant Health to open two Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte.