TOP 5 SPOTS TO WATCH: Last in a series of the top five places to watch in greater Wilmington during the economic recovery. Other locations highlighted during the series included downtown Wilmington, eastern Pender County, Brunswick County and Monkey Junction. 

When Frank Kenan purchased the old shopping center next to Landfall in the late 1980s, his vision for the development was for it to be just as grand and luxurious as the residences that would soon fill his development. 

More than 25 years later, not only does his vision remain intact, but all three Landfall commercial developments – Landfall Center, Landfall Executive Center and Landfall Park – might have lead the charge to something even bigger: the Mayfaire area.

“It’s a major selling point,” said Landfall Realtor Alison Bernhart. “When we bring potential buyers down Military Cutoff, they are surprised, even encouraged by the caliber of retail and business we have in the immediate area.” 

‘Corner of Main and Main’

Wilmington’s Mayfaire section is booming. 

And whether Landfall was, or is, the catalyst for turning the area into a commercial hotbed, most brokers and Realtors agree having the gated, high-end community within the vicinity has helped. 

“Without Landfall, there would be no Mayfaire,” Bernhart said. “Military Cutoff has become the financial capital of Wilmington. 

"You can find any bank, any financial service on this corridor, and that’s appealing to new and future Landfall residents.” 

Other brokers agree. 

“Mayfaire has become the financial corridor of the region,” said Louis Dworsky, a Raleigh-based developer who constructed part of Progress Point in 2003 at the intersection of Military Cutoff and Eastwood roads. “We are at the corner of Main and Main.” 

Progress Point, which is managed by Wilmington-based Cape Fear Commercial, is a mixed-use office and retail development that includes office space on its top level and retail on the ground level. 

Dworsky said the center retains a high occupancy rate and continued interest from prospective tenants because of its location in the Mayfaire area. 

“It’s in an excellent location,” he said. “You have to go past Progress Point to get to Landfall or Wrightsville Beach, and the traffic counts remain high.”

Then there’s the area’s location. 

For starters, the Mayfaire area is at the confluence of some of New Hanover County’s most desirable and wealthy zip codes – helping brokers land the kind of tenants and retailers many in the immediate area find desirable.

The average household income for a family of four exceeds $70,000 a year within the Mayfaire area. That increases sharply to more than $100,000 for residents residing in Landfall, according to recent retail marketing data.

Dworsky said the area’s growth is keeping occupancy rates high in his development. 

And he’s not alone. 

Retail and office

Wilmington-based Swain and Associates, which owns and manages The Forum on Military Cutoff road, is reporting an occupancy level exceeding 90 percent. 

Lumina Station on Eastwood Road is seeing its retail component improve. 

And Landfall Center’s newest management team – Cape Fear Commercial – continues to bring the center’s occupancy level beyond 90 percent by filling empty units and sprucing up the property’s physical appearance.

Overseeing Landfall Center’s management and leasing activities, Cape Fear Commercial is working on the city’s ninth-largest shopping center by pressure washing the exterior, restriping the parking lot, hiring a new landscaper and pruning many of the center’s trees. 

Officials also hope to add new awnings in the coming months to give Landfall Center more curb appeal.

The center is also welcoming new tenants while retaining existing ones. 

Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt and Edible Arrangements joined the current retail and restaurant tenants of Landfall Center that includes pet store Unleashed, Food Lion, Dollar Tree, Lovey’s Natural Foods & Café, Havertys, Terrazzo Trattoria restaurant and nine outparcels. Starbucks has also signed another long-term lease to stay put at the location.

And despite a lull in the regional office market, Mayfaire office development continues to grow more active. 

After selling out phase one of the Offices at Mayfaire – a 36,800-square-foot Offices at Mayfaire building at 6752 Parker Farm Drive – Wilmington-based developer Steve Anderson quickly began work on the project’s second phase across the street from his first three-story venture.

With steel beams and siding in place, the development is approaching 100 percent occupancy – prompting Anderson to accelerate phase three of his project, potentially bringing on board more than 72,000 square feet of office space into the Mayfaire market.   

Anderson sold out the first phase of his office development in January.

Wilmington-based McKinley Building Corp. and local architectural firm Cothran Harris Architecture, which completed construction and office condo upfittings on the first Offices at Mayfaire building last month, have been tapped to develop the new office building.

Anderson would not identify the future tenants, but hopes to start turning dirt on the phase three by the end of the year.  

He said before moving forward with phase two and three of the development, he wanted to ensure his first office building was completely occupied.

“I don’t act on a new development until I’ve 100 percent leased the building,” Anderson said.

“That has been key in these developments.”    

Mayfaire Town Center

But no other development has had a profound impact on the area than the Mayfaire Town Center. 

Boasting more than 650,000 square feet of retail space and at 70 percent built out, the development has quickly become a pillar of growth for 

the area.  

And as the area continues to grow, there could be even more Mayfaire to develop.

H.J. Brody, a Greenville-based co-developer of Mayfaire Town Center, said his firm was preparing to launch phase three of the development, which could include between 75,000-105,000 square feet of new retail on vacant land behind the Barnes & Noble section of the center.  

Brody added that the Mayfaire Community Center development, which is anchored by Harris Teeter along Military Cutoff Road, also has the capacity to expand by 100,000-125,000 square feet in a later phase. 

The Mayfaire development is 96 percent leased and currently has five residential condos left in the entire Town Center. 

Investors are also looking to continue its residential component in the next phase by possibly including rental units above the ground level retail in the next phase of the center. 

“It makes sense in Wilmington’s market and is something we are considering,” Brody said. 

“Everything is going to be tenant driven, and we want to make sure we have the right mix of tenants to make the next phase is successful.” 

Moving forward with the expansion could pay off big, as the N.C. Department of Transportation begins the early phases to expand Military Cutoff Road to Interstate 140 – giving the heart of Wilmington’s financial district and emerging retail sector quicker access to Interstate 40. 

That has Brody bullish on Mayfaire’s future. 

“I feel very positive about the Mayfaire area,” he said. “There’s a good blend of office development, retail development that has helped keep our development strong … that whole quadrant of Wilmington is very strong, and that’s good for business.” 

Multifamily development

The area also continues to see new residential growth – particularly new multifamily development.

Construction could soon begin on a 192-unit apartment development – the Hawthorne at the Station – which is slated to rise on 15 acres at 527 Old MacCumbers Station Road. 

Site work is also pending on a Cambridge Village, a $50 million, 250-unit development geared toward active seniors. Once completed, the development will have direct access into Mayfaire via Cavalier Drive. 

Autumn Hall, a mixed-use development on Eastwood Road, is also helping to drive development in the Mayfaire area. 

Work continues on Headwaters at Autumn Hall, a 286-unit apartment community rising in the mixed-use development. Officials have also submitted plans for Carolina Bay, a 133,000-square-foot facility set to house 122 multifamily units for independent living and 100 beds for assisted living care on 17.16 acres within the mixed-use development.

Bill Schoettelkotte, vice president of development services for Cape Fear Commercial that’s representing Carolina Bay, said officials hoped to launch construction on the project in a year.

Wilmington-based Liberty Senior Living will oversee the development and staff the facility.

The area also continues to see a rise in single-family permits for new homes.