A sign at a church in the Porters Neck area proclaims, “Welcome New Area Residents,” a prominent reminder of what builders and developers have known for a while: that the community in northern New Hanover County is expected to be the site of continued growth.

And with residential development comes an increase in commercial interest, industry professional say.

That trend is evident in the construction of Bayshore Commons, under way at 8100 Market St., where a Wal-mart will anchor a shopping center with 55,000 square feet of additional shop space. Eastern Carolinas Commercial Real Estate announced this week that the company was hired by Paramount Development as the exclusive leasing agents for Bayshore Commons, which is expected to be up and running by the summer of 2015.

“Now is the time for new development in our marketplace, and the Porters Neck area is a microcosm of this trend. The two major existing retail centers in the area are either full or have a vacancy,” said Nick Silivanch, partner and vice president of retail at ECCRE, in a news release. “Porters Neck Center is 100 percent occupied.”

Porters Neck Center starts at 8207 Market St. Across Market Street from Food Lion-anchored Porters Neck Center is Oak Landing, a shopping complex is anchored by Harris Teeter with 12 additional stores. “They are also 100 percent occupied but have announced plans to build an additional 4,000 square feet of retail space,” Silivanch said.

Bayshore Commons “is planned to be spread out over 18 separate shops from 1,000 square feet to 6,000 square feet. The property will have a dedicated stoplight and features three ingress and egress points, making accessibility for shoppers seamless,” said Bernadette Silivanch, another partner in ECCRE, in the release. “Our ideal line-up will include restaurants, specialty stores and apparel stores,” with a mix of local, regional and national tenants.

Securing the best co-tenants is crucial, Nick Silivanch said.

“That’s what makes a shopping center either thrive or die,” he said Wednesday.

Garry Silivanch, ECCRE partner, said in the announcement that the firm is gathering information on what kind of retail might fit well in the area.

“We are identifying tenancy holes in the market and have been conducting private surveys with many neighbors as to what they would like to see come to the Porters Neck Area,” he said.  “There has been some great feedback of what people want. We are certainly listening as we begin our planning and tenant targeting stage an important part of our lease up methodology.”

Recent residential projects in Porters Neck have included Amberleigh Shores, a 282-unit apartment complex at 7910 Market St. now open near the Marsh Oaks neighborhood with rents starting at $872, and the expansion of The Parks at Three Oaks apartment community along Amaryllis Drive. 

Also in Porters Neck, the Stephens Pointe apartment complex, an $18 million, 192-unit project currently under development by McAdams Homes, is set to rise at 8651 Stephens Church Road.

Porters Neck Plantation, at 8204 Fazio Drive, serves as an example of growth in single-family home construction in the community. Eleven new homes are currently under construction in the neighborhood, ranging in price from $400,000 to $650,000, according to Holly Overton, new home specialist for the community.

"The recent growth spurt is welcomed by our residents because it brings more convenient retail and restaurant options to north Wilmington," Overton said in an email.

According to U.S. Census data, the Porters Neck area is home to a high-income bracket population, second in the area only to Landfall, a fact included in a Greater Wilmington Business Journal story last year.