Below are the finalists in the 2014 Real Estate Awards. Each category had three finalist projects. Winners will be announced Nov. 18 at the Wilmington Real Estate Summit & Awards event. All project information provided by finalists.

REAL ESTATE AWARDS: AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Cottages at Cornerstone, 3800-3926 Prices Lane and 505-513 Hope Springs Court
The Cottages at Cornerstone presents a model for the development of low- to moderate-income homeownership units in North Carolina. It combines long-term affordability guarantees and high-quality construction with an array of housing and services opportunities that address the recreational, employment and transportation needs of residents.
Completed: June 23, 2013
Project Cost: $3.6 million
Category Details: The project is a model of affordability, using mortgage subsidies, in-kind donations, energy-saving design and local government and non-government partnerships. Home owners have 0 percent mortgages with an average monthly PTI payment below $500. Eight of the 39 homes are on land trust property, further guaranteeing long-term affordability.
Community Impact: The project contributes to community revitalization by adding the stability of homeownership to the neighborhood. Higher levels of homeownership create healthier neighborhoods, as homeowners act as anchors who are financially invested in where they live.
Project Team: Developer/Builder: Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity; Architect: Hipp Architecture & Development, Steve Whitney; Engineer: ESP Associates, Norris, Kuske & Tunstall; Lender: City of Wilmington, N.C. Housing Finance Agency, HOME Investment Partnership Program; Contractors: Barnhill Contracting Company; Others Involved: Cape Fear Housing Land Trust, AMEZ Housing Community Development, Wessell & Raney LLP, Calder & Calder PLLC and Baker & Colby PLLC
 
Lockwood Village Apartments, 2132 San Lucas Court
Located on 4.42 acres off College Road, Lockwood Village Apartments will feature 12 one-bedroom/ one-bath and 48 two-bedroom/two-bath units in five, three-story buildings. The apartments will be available to families and individuals earning 60 percent or less of the Area Median Income (AMI).
Projected Opening: Construction is 30 percent complete. The project is scheduled to open by June 2015.
Project Cost: $8.2 million
Category Details: Nearly 13,000 Wilmington renters pay an unaffordable rent. Lockwood Village directly addresses this need – these units are for households earning between $16,000 and $36,000 dollars a year. Fifty-eight percent of Wilmington jobs fall into this income range.
Community Impact: Beyond the addition of 60 new units of affordable housing, the construction of the development will generate nearly $6 million in local salaries and create nearly 90 new jobs in the Wilmington area.
Project Team: Developer: SNW LLP and CASA;
Builder: EST General Contractors Inc.; Architect: Moore Riley Architects, PA; Engineer: Spaulding & Norris, PA; Lender: Construction Loan–South State Bank; Permanent Financing– Community Investment Corporation of the Carolinas (CICCAR); N.C. Housing Finance Agency and  City of Wilmington; Equity Investor–Boston Capital; Contractors: NORCO Management Inc.; Others Involved: The lead development team, SNW Partners and the management company for the project, NORCO Management Inc., are locally owned by New Hanover County residents.
 
Robert R. Taylor Estates, 1308 North Fifth St.
Robert R. Taylor Estates is a 192-unit affordable housing project that anchors the city’s Northside neighborhood. Built on the former site of a public housing complex, Taylor Estates was initiated through an inclusive community planning process.
Completed: May 2011
Project Cost: $36 million
Category Details: In 2003, WHA received a HOPE VI grant to demolish buildings on the Taylor Homes site and provide relocation assistance to displaced residents. In 2005, demolition was complete, and the redevelopment of Taylor Homes began. The first phase of the redevelopment included the Robert S. Taylor Senior Homes and The Pointe at Taylor Estates. The second phase was the construction of New Brooklyn Homes. The development now contains 192 mixed-income units that house 240 low-income Wilmington residents.
Community Impact: Taylor Estates has transformed housing conditions in Wilmington’s Northside neighborhood and has been critically important to the city’s revitalization plans. The deteriorated buildings that characterized the site before its redevelopment have been replaced with high-quality housing units and strategically located community amenities that serve the needs of 240 Wilmington residents.
Project Team: Developer: Wilmington Housing Authority, Housing and Economic Opportunity; Builder: Crosland, Clancy & Thayes; Architect: Don Tise, principal, Tise-Kiester Architects; Engineer: ESP Lender: RBC Bank and BB&T Bank; Others Involved: City of Wilmington/CDBG funds, HOME Loan, N.C. Housing Finance Agency, residents of the Northside and partner agencies

REAL ESTATE AWARDS:  ARTS, CULTURE, HERITAGE

Bellamy Mansion-Slave Quarters Restoration, 503 Market St.
The Bellamy Mansion’s Slave Quarters Restoration Campaign was a decade-long community-wide labor of love resulting in the restoration of the rare extant slave quarters located at the rear of the historic Bellamy mansion site; the first floor is now open for public tours.
Opened: Opened to the public October 2013, completed in April 2014
Project Cost: $420,000
Category Details: The quarters were built before the mansion was erected and was thought to house the artisans and builders of the mansion. By focusing on historical methods and reclaimed 19th-century materials, the project provided a unique opportunity to showcase historic preservation in action.
Community Impact: This project has had an economic impact by pumping money into the local economy via jobs. It has improved the look of the downtown historic overlay area turning an unused shell of a building into a well-cared for and preserved treasure. It has increased the number of heritage tourists to the site and has provided new opportunities for educational programming to the community.
Project Team: Developer: Preservation North Carolina; Builder: Bellamy Family (1859); Architect: James F. Post (1859); Engineer: Rufus Bunnell (1859); Contractors: Rogers Building Corporation (2013-14), Heritage Restoration (2013-14), Hanover Iron Works (2008-09), Lumsden Welding (2008-09), Reudrich Restoration (2008), Dudek Consulting (2008) 

Castle Street Arts & Antique District
In 2004 a group of antique dealers came to Castle Street to build an Art & Antique district. At the time there were many vacant buildings on Castle Street. The storefronts in two blocks between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street quickly filled up, with art, antiques, restaurants, wine stores and other retail, adding to foot traffic and neighborhood businesses.
Category Details: Immediately there were concerns about zoning and other issues that have always been problems on Castle Street. So the store owners’ work began. They formed a merchants association and went to work cleaning up the street, making decisions on advertising and learning to work as a community, and today it stands as a model for other neighborhoods to see as people who work live and play together.
Community Impact: The association now has plans for quarterly, community events that also incorporate the district’s businesses including a fall festival, Christmas walk and Fourth of July daytime celebration in advance of the fireworks show downtown. Organizers have looked for ways to utilize empty lots for community events, such as a regular flea market to bring visitors on the weekends. That event is pending zoning approval from the city council.
 
CFCC Union Station, 502 N. Front St.
Union Station is a dynamic facility that serves the needs of thousands of college students and provides a variety of conference facilities for the entire community. The building features 50 classrooms and labs, additional space for student services and a conference center on the top floor with stunning views of the riverfront.
Opened: Officially opened in April 2014
Project Cost: $54.5 million
Category Details: Union Station is a transformative facility in both function and appearance. The structure has made a tremendously positive impact on the overall educational experience for the thousands of local residents who attend Cape Fear Community College and has dramatically improved an underdeveloped and neglected part of downtown Wilmington.
Community Impact: Union Station has revitalized a full block of downtown Wilmington with an attractive new structure, greenspace and walkways that improve pedestrian safety for students and visitors. The educational benefits feature state-of-the-art labs for future health care technicians. Conference facilities help to attract visitors to downtown Wilmington for a wide variety of events.
Project Team: Builder: Shelco; Architect: LS3P; Engineer: Andrew Consulting

REAL ESTATE AWARDS: COMMUNITY BUILDER

Frankie Roberts, executive director of LINC Inc.
Examples of Work as Community Builder: Since 2000, Frankie Roberts has been the executive director of Leading Into New Communities (LINC) Inc., a nonprofit agency he co-founded with Tracey Ray. LINC’s mission is to provide shelter and services to men and women who have been released from local jails, state and/or federal prisons and on occasion young adults who have been released from detention centers. Additionally, LINC provides services for children who are at risk due to parental incarceration.
How Work Contributes to Real Estate: The group moved into a facility on Castle Street
in 2000, which houses its New Workforce Program, and has expanded to other locations, including its LITE Program at 801 Princess St. In 2012, LINC opened its M.E. Roberts Transitional Living Campus, a 40-bed center to serve those recently released from prison (see Reuse category finalists).
Impacts on Community: LINC has successfully help reintegrate over 1,200 men and women who have been released from prison since 2002.
 
Harrelson Center Board of Directors, Jo Ann Carter Harrelson Center Inc.
Examples of Work as Community Builder: The Harrelson Center Board of Directors had the initial vision of reusing the Law Enforcement Center at 20 N. Fourth St., a place of incarceration for a nonprofit center to serve those in need in our community. It has continued with this dream by renovating the fourth floor, expanding the size of two current partners and allowing for the expansion of the programing for both groups. Phoenix Employment Ministries will double the amount of people placed into fulfilling employment, and A Safe Place (Centre of Redemption) will expand its reach to more women who’ve been trafficked, providing them with a way out of their circumstances.
How Work Contributes to Real Estate: The Board of Directors has set a unique example of collaboration for the future of nonprofit operations. By reusing and improving an abandoned building in the Historic District of Wilmington, the Board of Directors has improved the property value and also improved access to downtown parking spots for its partners and nearby courthouse employees through underground parking decks. The Board of Directors has created the center to offer below-market rental rates, paid utilities, security and downtown parking to its partner organizations.
Impacts on Community: The Harrelson Center provides a place of collaboration for organizations serving those in need in our community. Partners are connected to a network of volunteers, shared resources and a holistic approach to helping
others.
 
Mo Afify, owner/developer of A‘N’A Builders Inc.
Examples of Work as Community Builder: Mo Afify has provided infrastructure and commercial development options in the local community that have helped serve the everyday need of the greater Surf City area.
How Work Contributes to Real Estate: By developing retail centers, condominiums, townhome communities and custom homes, Afify and his company A‘N’A Builders Inc. have provided places to shop, varieties of dining as well as exceptional coastal living options.
Impacts on Community: With the development of over 100,000 square feet of commercial space as well as vast residential projects A‘N’A Builders Inc. has been able to provide necessary services and job opportunities to local Surf City residents and surrounding communities. Because of the large-scale development Afify created on the commercial corridor into Topsail Island, he has allowed for non-traditional island shopping and dining for both residents and visitors alike.

REAL ESTATE AWARDS: NEW CONSTRUCTION, RESIDENTIAL

City Block Apartments, 814 N. Third St.
City Block Apartments is a new, controlled access building located within the Brooklyn Arts District and Central Business District.
Projected Opening: Currently under construction, slated to open December 2014
Project Cost: $15 million
Category Details: Residents of the 112 units will enjoy modern amenities such as a fitness studio, veranda, cyber café, on-site management/24-hour emergency maintenance, 136 gated parking spaces, additional storage units and complimentary Wi-Fi.
Community Impact: By providing the first full-service apartment community in the Central Business District, City Block Apartments will roughly double the number of housing options and the population of the Brooklyn Arts District. With so many new residents, there will be an increased need for services, which will help to spur economic growth.
Project Team: Developer: H. Thomas Davis III/City Block Apartments LLC; Builder: Clancy & Theys Construction Company; Architect: Lisle Architecture & Design; Engineer: Site/Civil-Paramounte Engineering Inc./Structural-Woods Engineering P.A./PM&E-David Sims and Associates P.C. Lender: Oppenheimer Multifamily Housing & Healthcare Finance, funded under Section 202 for U.S. Dept. Of Housing & Urban Development
 
NOFO9, 300-302 Brunswick St.
Side-by-side, two-bedroom/two-bath residential units with garage on ground level.
Completed: June 2014
Category Details: NOFO9 is a residential building designed and built specifically for the corner of Brunswick and North Third streets in downtown Wilmington. The location, across from the Cape Fear Community College’s Humanities and Fine Arts Center, contains several floor-to-ceiling windows that were created to capture the beauty and energy of downtown.
Community Impact: New residential construction downtown is always important to a thriving community like Wilmington. NOFO9 adds energy to the area and the North Fourth corridor progress.
Project Team: Builder: Plantation Building Corp; Architect: Rob Romero
 
Tonbo Meadow
Tonbo Meadow is a low-impact residential development off Greenville Loop Road with 14 two- and three-story, mid-century modern style townhomes that encompass a smaller, smarter footprint.
Category Details: The townhomes will implement one of the most innovative green building solutions to date, with operating energy and maintenance costs 70 percent lower than comparable homes and a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score more than 45 points below average. A tightly sealed building envelope allows for more pure indoor air quality, adding to the energy efficient HVAC systems and appliances. Key features will also include: modern, high-end design, all low- or no-VOC materials, open floor plan with passive solar orientation, foam insulated for thermal performance, communal garden and gathering space and private roof decks.
Community Impact: One of Tonbo Meadow’s main design objectives is to have a very minimal impact on the land, and in turn, to encourage homeowners to embrace and enjoy their natural surroundings. With the homes clustered on the 3-plus acre plot of land, 1 acre is left undisturbed for community enjoyment. There is a meadow path underway for wildlife observation and a manmade wetland, designed to provide a variety of passive recreation opportunities. One of the area’s first all-natural pools, which uses no chemicals to filter the water, is also in the works for the development,
Project Team: Builder: Fasse Construction & Development Inc.

REAL ESTATE AWARDS: NEW CONSTRUCTION, COMMERCIAL

CastleBranch Corporation Headquarters, 1844 Sir Tyler Drive
Thomas Construction Group completed the new corporate headquarters for CastleBranch, a nationwide employment screening/vendor management firm. The company’s rapid growth required the creation of the new three-story, 60,000-square-foot facility.
Completed: April, 4, 2014
Project Cost: $5,442,513
Category Details: 60,000 square feet, three-story, structural steel frame, metal stud framing, brick veneer façade with glass storefront offices and conference rooms, radius walls, radius stairs with stained concrete treads and glass panel/stainless steel handrails, aluminum curtainwall system with sunshades and a membrane roof
Community Impact: The aluminum panel entrance and mirrored glass frontage intensifies its surroundings and is an example of community expansion. CastleBranch’s completion brings more jobs to the area, and relationships have cultivated beyond the typical contractor-architect and owner-occupant relationships to succeed in constructing a complex facility on a fast-track schedule.
Project Team: Developer/Owner: SHP Pines II LLC; Builder: Thomas Construction Group LLC; Architect: Lisle Architecture & Design; Engineer: Civil-Tripp Engineering/Structural-Woods Engineering/P/M/E-David Sims & Associates; Contractors: Plumbing-M&M Plumbing/HVAC-Harrelson Mechanical/Electrical-Scott Electric(2008) Dudek Consulting (2008) 
 
Courtyard by Marriott Wilmington Downtown-Historic District, 229 North Second St.
Courtyard by Marriott Wilmington Downtown-Historic District is a brand new, custom-built Marriott hotel at the corner of Grace and Second streets in the heart of historic Wilmington. Not an ordinary hotel, this chic property is much like the city of Wilmington itself: one of a kind.
Completed: Feb. 24, 2014
Community Impact: Courtyard by Marriott Wilmington Downtown-Historic District has a Bistro and Starbucks coffee shop located in lobby that locals are welcome to enjoy. The hotel itself has drawn many visits from around the state to visit the downtown area.
Project Team: Developer: Greensboro-based CN Hotels; Architect: Charlotte-based Overcash Demitt Architects; Engineer: Structural-WGPM Inc. out of Charlotte/PME-ALLIED Consulting Engineers out of Charlotte; Lender: Carter Bank and Trust; Contractors: Graham Construction
 
Live Oak Bank Headquarters, 1741 Tiburon Drive
Designed for integration into its environment, the 36,500-square-foot office building captures views from every workspace, preserving as much of the undisturbed site as possible. Features include a 50-seat tiered digital conference room, fitness center and an exterior deck.
Opened: April 2013
Project Cost: $10,800,000
Category Details: Situated amongst old-growth longleaf pines, the new headquarters building is designed to “sit lightly on the land.”
The structure’s slender, canted building footprint is oriented for optimal daylighting and passive solar design. The locally sourced cypress exterior integrates with its surroundings and will gently
weather over time.
Community Impact: The Live Oak Bank Headquarters provides a serene, welcoming, innovative workplace for its employees.The design award-winning headquarters is a reflection of the institution’s attentiveness to the environment, its customers and the wellbeing of its employees and community.
Project Team: Architect: LS3P Associates Ltd.; Engineer: Civil-Norris & Tunstall Engineers/Structural-Woods Engineering/ Mechanical-CBHF Engineers/Plumbing-CBHF Engineers/Electrical-McFadyen Engineers; Contractor: Clancy & Theys Construction Company; Landscape Architect: LACC International
 

REAL ESTATE AWARDS: PLACEMAKING

Brooklyn Arts Center at St. Andrews, 516 North Fourth St.
The Brooklyn Arts Center is a multi-use event venue located in a repurposed historic church in downtown Wilmington’s up-and-coming North Fourth Street neighborhood, hosting weddings, concerts, film shoots, fundraisers, and other special events throughout the year.
Opened: April 2, 2011
Category Details: The iconic St. Andrews Church was an anchor on North Fourt Street from 1888 until the early 1980s when it was finally abandoned. Hurricane Fran tried hard to destroy the building – and nearly succeeded – but the City of Wilmington stepped in to save the structure, and the church was boarded up from 1998 until 2010, when Dave Nathans took control of the church restoration. From abandoned and boarded, it become a nationally known venue for weddings and concerts and a community anchor (once again) in the neighborhood, one of the fastest growing business and residential corridors in the city.
Community Impact: The center now hosts more than 25,000 visitors each year for a wide variety of community-driven events, drawing Wilmingtonians who might not otherwise have traveled to the neighborhood and are now regulars.
Project Team: Developer: David Nathans; Builder: Urban Building Corporation; Architect: Clark Hipp; Lender: Self-financed; Contractors: Electric-C.A. Harrell/Plumbing-Donald Kinney/HVAC-Psioda/Masonry-Herbert Bailey
 
South Front Apartments, 1400 S. Second St.
When Mark Maynard decided to redevelop Nesbitt Court into South Front, his goal was to achieve the sublime, a lifestyle that, at its core, is what people truly need and want. Maynard repurposed an abandoned public housing project into a unique lifestyle community. Built in 1940, the property is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Opened: 2012
Category Details: Maynard created an eco-friendly community. The rooftop garden, the saltwater pool, the pervious concrete walkways, the loaner bicycle program and the rain barrel water-collection system were designed with this in mind. Tribute built award-winning, environmentally friendly water gardens within a stormwater system that became activity areas for the community.
Community Impact: The reuse of the original buildings is the ultimate in recycling. The buildings were gutted, and developers reimagined new apartments inside the space, using existing window and door openings. An old boiler room became a first-class move theater. A Tribute Properties community, it established a unique lifestyle experience in the Wilmington Historical District.
Project Team: Developer: Mark Maynard/Tribute Companies; Builder: Tribute Investment and Development; Architect: Cothran Harris Architecture; Engineer: Woods Engineering; Lender: US Bank; Contractors: Tribute Construction
 
North Third Street Streetscape Project
Voters approved the North Third Street Improvements Project in May 2006 as part of the City of Wilmington Transportation Bond Referendum. Improvements were performed along North Third Street from the Market Street intersection to the North Front Street intersection.
Opened: March 2013
Category Details: Improvements included utility undergrounding, utility replacement, decorative streetlights and traffic signal mast arms, sidewalks, landscaping, pedestrian features, and medians
north of the Third Street bridge. Additionally, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority contributed funds to upgrade and/or replace the water and sewer infrastructure, and the N.C. Department of Transportation contributed funds to resurface the street.
 

REAL ESTATE AWARDS: PUBLIC POLICY

Brunswick County Commissioners-Deferral of Fees
Public Policy: An interim policy to provide for the deferral of payment and collection of water and sewer capital recovery fees and transmission capital recovery fees to before issuing a certificate of occupancy instead of requiring payment prior to the issuance of a building permit.
Role of Group: The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners approved the interim policy, procedures and conditions related to the deferral of the fees for new single-family residential, multifamily residential and commercial construction to be served by the county’s water and sewer system in jurisdictions where the county has building permitting and inspection authority.
Impact: Developers and contractors have indicated that deferral may encourage contractors to build more new homes, which would lead to increased employment and building material sales and aid in the recovery of the local economy. The goal of the policy is to encourage employment and economic opportunities for the county’s residents with no adverse impact to the county utility system’s ratepayers or taxpayers. Since the policy’s start, 33 deferral applications have been approved, completed and paid in full.
Status: On Nov. 2, 2009, the board of commissioners initially approved the interim policy and voted several times to extend it. The policy currently runs through the end of this year.

City of Wilmington-North Waterfront Park

Public Polciy: North Waterfront Park fulfills a long-held goal to provide a sizable open space for residents, employees and visitors to downtown. Development of the park will enhance the quality of life of residents and provide an economic benefit by serving as the central amenity to a developing high-density, mixed-use urban destination.
Role of Group: On Nov. 19, 2013, the Wilmington City Council voted unanimously to spend $4.1 million dollars to purchase 6.63 acres of property for a passive park on the northern downtown waterfront.
Impact: While enhancing Wilmington’s quality of life and meeting the recreational needs of the community at large, it is expected that the park will also provide an economic benefit to Wilmington by serving as the central amenity to the developing northern downtown district and positively impacting property values. Since the park is easily accessible to a nearby parkway and highway, it is projected to host major community events that should spur spin-off economic activity to downtown businesses.
Status: The City of Wilmington is in the midst of its Public Engagement Campaign for North Waterfront Park to help develop the park’s design through public input and feedback. At the end of the Public Engagement Campaign, the city will complete a master plan for the park, which will be used as a tool to acquire development funding. Funding possibilities include public and private grants, as well as individual and corporate sponsorships.

Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors- Partners for Affordable Homeownership
Public Policy: Partners for Affordable Homeownership is an organization of Realtors and Realtor partners and lenders that believe all members of the local community have the right to live in a safe and decent home.
The mission is:
• To develop and deliver affordable housing education and outreach programs
• To establish alliances with developers, lenders, nonprofits, community development specialists and political leaders to identify and capitalize on affordable housing opportunities
• To be the experts in new and existing affordable housing resources in the region
Role of Group: The bipartisan group provides free homebuyer education (Operation Home Sweet Home) to the local workforce, many of whom are in low- to moderate-income levels. They serve on the Cape Fear Housing Coalition board of directors. They hold public outreach projects such as I Wanna Bee, a career day for kids, yard beautification projects for foster parents of autistic children, repair day with WARM and are experts in the affordable housing arena.
Impact: Partners for Affordable Homeownership has provided homebuyer education to over 200 local families, resulting in at least 10 percent of them realizing the American dream of homeownership. It provides career education for 250 children to give them hope and dreams of someday becoming a professional “something”. Over 30 members are certified Workforce Housing Specialists, providing expertise in working with low- to moderate-income buyers and providing qualified buyers with $2000 in down payment assistance grants.
 

REAL ESTATE AWARDS: REHAB

Pender Memorial Hospital-Outpatient Services Renovation, 507 E. Fremont St.
The main purpose was to relocate and upgrade the hospital’s CT Scanner to improve privacy, safety and efficiency for patients and staff. Other renovations included adding Pender Memorial’s first gift shop, expanded chapel, new emergency center entrance, expanded lobbies, improvements in landscaping and exterior garden and renovated main lobby.  
Completed: May 16, 2013
Project Cost: $1.2 million
Category Details: Pender Memorial raised more than $500,000 to improve technology, privacy and aesthetics of the hospital including mirroring the gift shop after Burgaw’s Historic Train Depot, utilizing a local artist to craft the chapel’s stained glass door and commissioning artists to paint portraits of two beloved, deceased physicians and one nurse.  
Community Impact: The project has transformed the look and feel of Pender Memorial Hospital and offers patients, family and the staff with a more modern and pleasing environment to work and to receive care. It ties the community’s hospital to Burgaw and Pender County in very meaningful ways.
Project Team: Builder: Monteith Construction Corporation, Bryan Thomas, project manager; Architect: Batson Associates Inc., Geordan J. Terry; Engineer: Structural-Fuller Consulting Engineers Inc./MEP-Reece, Noland, McElrath; Contractors: Monteith Construction Corporation/Keystone R&C Construction Inc., James Clements, owner/project manager; Others Involved: NHRMC trustees, NHRMC Foundation board, Pender Memorial Hospital trustees
 
Queensboro Shirt Co/Remington Condominiums, 1400 Marstellar St./1207 S. 13th St.
Rehabilitation and repurposing over 100,000 square feet of the old Remington tie factory in downtown Wilmington. When complete, the project will combine both cosmetic improvements, such as landscaping and a neighborhood coffee shop, along with practical, such as over 200 kilowatt of rooftop solar and a fiber network.
Status: Under construction
Project Cost: $1.5 million ($400,000 so far spent)
Category Details: In 2014, a 28,000-square-foot, derelict warehouse was refurbished into modern office space. About 100,000 square feet of roof will be replaced in 2015 to prepare for 200 kilowatt of solar and a coffee shop, set to open in 2016. Improvements so far include new floors, landscaping, plumbing, electrical and 65 tons of HVAC.
Community Impact: In addition to facilitating the expansion of Queensboro Shirt Co, the project has provided a significant facelift to the block of 13th Street south of Marstellar via landscaping and improvements to the building façade and will further contribute a community gathering space once the Queensboro Coffee shop opens in 2016.
Project Team: Developer, builder and architect: Queensboro Shirt Co; Engineer: David Sims & Associates; Lender: TD Bank; Contractors: Carve Surfaceworks, Lancaster Electric, Edgar Allen Plumbing and Drechsel Painting; Others Involved: Anthony (AJ) McCoy
 
Slice of Life, 125 Market St.
Complete renovation of St. John’s Masonic Hall built in 1841. The first floor was redone, and a kitchen was installed to house the new location for the downtown Slice of Life restaurant. All new windows were installed throughout the building. The roof as well as all mechanicals to the building were replaced. The second and third floors were rehabbed and made into two separate 2000-square-foot apartment space.
Completed: Restaurant opened in May, and the apartments were complete in July.
Project Cost: About $1.5 million for renovation, cost of building and purchase of lot next door
Category Details: This rehab was done to one of the oldest buildings in downtown Wilmington. The building has a preservation easement through the national Registry of Deeds. The rehab was quite extensive and done the proper way to help preserve it for many years to come.
Community Impact: Took a building that had a lot of history – some good and some bad – and moved a business across the street that has been successful for over 15 years. Slice of Life went from a 40-seat restaurant to a 90-seat restaurant.
Project Team: Developer: Ray Worrell; Builder: Constructive Building Solutions; Engineer: Tim Heins; Lender: First Citizens; Contractors: General Contractor-Andrew Rojeck/Electrical-AB Blake/Painting-Silkwood/Tile-Hardy/Roof-Highland Roofing/Farriss Hospitality; Others Involved: Stephen Worrell

REAL ESTATE AWARDS: REUSE

DREAMS of Wilmington Center for Arts Education, 901 Fanning St.
In 2012, DREAMS, a youth development arts program for economically disadvantaged young people ages 8-17 moved into a newly renovated arts center. The new home previously was a City of Wilmington, 1939-era, 12,000-square-foot bus maintenance garage. The art center houses art and pottery studios as well as music and dance spaces.
Completed: In the building’s 8,500 square feet of classrooms, studios and administrative space were upfitted in 2012. Renovation of the remaining 4,000 square feet is expected by June 2015.
Project Cost: Phase 1 of the project was $847,000; estimate for phase 2 is $450,000
Category Details: In 2012, DREAMS received a preservation award for adaptive reuse from the Historic Wilmington Foundation. The building’s reuse preserves a piece of Wilmington architectural history.
Community Impact: DREAMS Arts Education Center is not only an investment in the reclamation of a building – it is an investment in the reclamation of an entire neighborhood and the vulnerable youth who call the Northside home.
Project Team: Developer: DREAMS of Wilmington; Builder: Clancy & Theys; Architect: Warren Wilson; Engineer: CBHF Engineers pllc; Contractors: Mechanical-Humphrey/Plumbing-Anderson/Electrical-Watson; Others Involved: City of Wilmington funded half of renovation through Community Development Block Grant
 
Good Shepherd (The Sgt. Eugene Ashley Memorial Center), 2002 Colwell Ave.
Good Shepherd Center rehabbed this historic building (former Washington-Catlett School) into a transitional housing center for homeless veterans with a history of substance abuse. The Ashley Center provides a structured, 18-month program that combines affordable housing with on-site supportive services such as case management, counseling and transportation for veterans.
Opened: Memorial Day, 2001
Project Cost: $475,000
Category Details: Good Shepherd reused the property that sat vacant for years, maintaining much of the history including original hardwood floors, auditorium seats and blackboards from a school that served the children of Wilmington’s mill workers. In restoring and reusing the building, Good Shepherd developed an effective housing solution for homeless veterans.
Community Impact: The Washington-Catlett School sat vacant for 20 years before Good Shepherd took on its restoration and reuse. Its state of disrepair was so severe that the historic school was in great danger of falling into ruin. In salvaging it, Good Shepherd preserved a site important to the city’s history.
Project Team: Architect and engineer: Ellinwood Design Associates; Lender: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, City of Wilmington, NX Housing Finance Agency and Veterans Administration
 
LINC M.E. Roberts Transitional Living Campus, 222 Division Drive
The M.E. Roberts Transitional Living Campus is a 40-bed transformation academy that serves men and women who have been recently released from prison. It provides transitional living, case management and supportive services including employment and career readiness, job/vocational training and a goal-oriented structured environment.
Opened: Sept. 12, 2012
Project Cost: $1.4 million
Category Details: The nonprofit Leading Into New Communities (LINC) Inc. transformed a former New Hanover County jail annex into the transitional housing to support individuals returning to society from prison and jail. The facility can house up to 20 men and 20 women and includes full kitchens, exercise room and computer labs as well as an urban farm operated by residents.
Community Impact: The work will have lasting impact on the community, having equipped residents with skills and resources to become productive, tax-paying and law-abiding citizens.
Project Team: Developer: Scott A. Redinger Incorporated; Builder: McKinley Building Corporation; Architect: Tise-Kiester Architects; Engineer: Cape Fear Engineering Inc.; Lender: City of Wilmington Community Services Department, N.C. Housing Finance Agency, First Citizens Bank, Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta; Others Involved: New Hanover County, State Employees’ Credit Union

 
 To find out who this year’s Lifetime Achievement honorees are, click here.