The Wilmington Housing Authority is aiming to redevelop Hillcrest, an 80-year-old development that was supposed to only exist temporarily for war efforts. (Port City Daily photo/Alexandria Sands) WILMINGTON ââ Between 13th and 16th on Dawson Street, garments swing on clothes lines in front of dull, masonry one-story buildings. The dwellings, originally built with the intention to later tear down, house more than 200 impoverished Wilmington families. Spread out amongst 26 acres, the public housing structures decay as investors pour millions into revitalizing and enriching the surrounding land. Hillcrest was built as temporary housing to support the efforts of the Second World War. Itâs now 80 years old and crumbling. Meanwhile, City of Wilmington and New Hanover County leaders frantically search for a solution to the areaâs lack of affordable housing as the workforce population skyrockets. The answer could be dense housing ââ apartments and townhomes ââ that take up little land but hold a lot of people. If it were developed today, the property Hillcrest sits on would likely have double or quadruple the number of units.