Charles Boney Jr.
LS3P principal and vice president

A widely respected architect and community advocate, Charles Boney Jr. has been a key figure in LS3P’s local growth.

He joined the architecture firm founded by his grandfather, Leslie N. Boney, in the 1980s. Boney Architects and LS3P Associates merged in 2005.

Boney, principal and vice president in the firm’s Wilmington office, has worked on a number of projects in the area including the Wilmington Convention Center, New Hanover Regional Medical Center additions, Thalian Hall renovations, Cape Fear Community College Humanities and Fine Arts Center and Wilmington Police Department headquarters.

He has been a champion for historic preservation and advocate for quality planning and design, said Chris Boney, Charles Boney’s business partner and brother.

“His thoughtful designs have enhanced the quality of place in the Cape Fear region by being forward-thinking while still respecting our past,” Chris Boney said.

For six years, he hosted a radio show on WHQR called “Talk About Architecture,” engaging a general audience about architecture and placemaking topics. The commentaries won him an Historic Wilmington Foundation Preservation Media Award. He won another award from the foundation in 2012 for work he and his wife did on their personal home in the historic downtown district.

He has served as a board member of Wilmington Downtown Inc., president and vice president of the N.C. Board of Architecture and president of the Design Guild of N.C. State University’s College of Design. He is currently a member of the Cape Fear Community College Foundation’s board.

The American Institute of Architects College of Fellows added him in 2010.

Esmond Anderson
Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity, construction superintendent

During his 13-year career at Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity, Esmond Anderson has made an impact on the local real estate community as well as families in need of quality housing.

Anderson, construction superintendent for the nonprofit group, has supervised the building of more than 120 Habitat homes, including work on The Cottages at Cornerstone.

“The homes conform to all applicable building standards, codes and regulations. This would not be such a lauded accomplishment except that the homes are built primarily by volunteers,” said Kitty Yerkes, development director for Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity.

She said Anderson has a knack for putting the right volunteer in the right job. He also manages three construction site supervisors, and the four-person team builds at least a dozen houses a year as well as renovating and repairing homes throughout the year, Yerkes said.

Anderson also continues to embrace new and improved building techniques. Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity’s new construction is done to System Vision specifications and examined by a licensed home inspector, providing lower utility bills for homeowners and a smaller carbon footprint.

Yerkes said that through his work, Anderson continues to answer the call to action for more affordable housing.

“Our community is more vibrant because of his personal and professional passion for creating new housing opportunities for all,” Yerkes said. “Through Esmond’s leadership, communities have been created and stabilized, homes have been made safer and healthier and lives have been transformed.”

H. David Swain
Swain & Associates, owner

Ever since David Swain formed his development company, Swain & Associates, in the mid-1970s, he has been active in the development of shopping centers, office buildings, warehouses and more.
His work over the decades has helped contribute to many of Wilmington’s commercial development nodes.

Early in his career, Swain built more than 45 apartment complexes – 32 of which he still owns – before turning his focus to developing retail shopping centers. Since 1981, he has developed, built or redeveloped about 100 properties, or more than 4 million square feet. His company manages and leases all the shopping centers in the firm’s portfolio.

In the 1990s, he turned an eye toward Military Cutoff Road during a time when the city’s main shopping district was along Oleander Drive. He bought 20 acres, ran water and sewer lines to the property and developed The Forum and Renaissance Park centers as upscale shopping destinations. In 2013, Swain & Associates sold The Forum for $24.7 million.

Swain also bought Marketplace Mall, a failed shopping center on South College Road, out of bankruptcy and worked with government leaders to redevelop the property and turn it into government offices for New Hanover County among his many local projects.

“As a developer David sees his profession as much more than a career. To him it is a vehicle for
creating jobs, opportunities and improving the quality of life for those in the communities where he works,” said his son, Jason, who also works in the family business. “Wilmington is an excellent example of this.”

To find out who the finalists were in the other categories of the 2014 Wilmington Real Estate Awards, click here.