Developers at Autumn Hall are about to break ground on several apartment complexes located in the center of the 236-acre development off Eastwood Road.

Headwaters at Autumn Hall will be 286 apartment units, which will be available for rent next summer, developers said. The units will be built on a 14-acre site.

“Apartments were always part of our master plan at Autumn Hall,” said Brian Eckel, co-founding partner of Cape Fear Commercial. “We have been monitoring the apartment market for the past five years and the trends have clearly shown that rents are up and the vacancy is down.”

U.S. Bank has provided $20.5 million in debt financing of the apartment complexes. But, six lenders competed for the loan that would build Headwaters’ one-, two- and three-bedroom rentals.

The developers raised about $7.5 million in equity from a small group of private investors and one institutional investor, which are all based in North Carolina, said Will Purvis, principal of the development group, who helped raise the equity, structured the deal and secured construction financing.

In Wilmington, this will be the second such multi-family housing project in an upscale, mixed-use commercial and residential development. The first was Mayfaire Town Center.

“The strong occupancy and rent growth of class-A multifamily in Wilmington along with a limited amount of new product, make this an attractive market that tends to have high barriers to entry,” Purvis wrote in an email.

“From a macro standpoint, the future economics of apartments as an asset class are very favorable. The government incentives and programs for home ownership that have existed in the past may not continue in the future. As people and the government de-lever, I think you will see more renters in higher-end residential,” he wrote.

Geared toward working professionals and active retirees, the monthly rent will be $1,000 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,600 for a three-bedroom apartment per month. The units will have granite countertops, tile floors and stainless steel appliances. Tenants will have access to a fitness center, swimming pool, clubhouse and carwash on-site.

Atlanta-based Oxford Properties will lead the construction and Thomas Construction Group will assist locally. Building will take about 16 months, said Bill Schoettelkotte, who was recruited to oversee the construction project. He has developed multi-family projects for St. James Plantation and previously worked for the builder Oxford Properties on new apartments in Georgia and Virginia.

So far, about 20 homes and two small parks have been built at Autumn Hall, with Raleigh-based Jordan Built Homes leading most of the construction. Currently, there are about 94 single-family home lots. And, eventually they plan to develop 300 home sites at Autumn Hall.

Raiford Trask, Sr. purchased the land in the 1960s for about $27 per acre, Eckel said.

Trask originally bought a 1,500-acre lot, which included some land that is now part of UNCW and the current Autumn Hall development site. There, Trask built an 18-hole public golf course called Duck Haven Golf Club and his home, which overlooked a 10-acre lake. The developers, which include Raiford Trask III, plan to build a hotel by the lake, Eckel said.