A company based in Clayton that serves the Wilmington area recently leased two industrial buildings on Blue Clay Road, brokers announced this week.

Carolina Comfort Air Inc., a firm that specializes in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) service, installation and maintenance, leased two industrial buildings on 2 acres at 1805 and 1809 Blue Clay Road in Wilmington for an undisclosed amount, according to a news release from Eastern Carolinas Commercial Real Estate.

The buildings total more than 15,680 square feet.

The company currently serves Wilmington from a Jacksonville office, which the firm plans to maintain, said Josh Reason, president of new construction for Carolina Comfort Air.

"Part of it is the drive time that we're experiencing, but the service and replacement market is much bigger in Wilmington than it is in Jacksonville," Reason said Thursday, referring to why the company chose the Port City to expand its footprint. "It's a much more stable market."

The majority of the company's business, about 70 percent, comes from installing HVAC in new homes, he said. 

"We do about 3,500 new homes a year from the Triangle to the coast," Reason said.

The company expects to be operating out of the new Wilmington space by April 1, Reason said, likely growing to have about 50 employees at the Blue Clay Road facilities. 

"We're looking to grow more in Wilmington. We do a fair share of work there now, but we're really looking to grow once we get there and get our feet on the ground," he said.

The Blue Clay Road facilities will mark a fifth location for Carolina Comfort Air, which in addition to New Hanover County also serves Brunswick County and customers in other counties around New  Hanover. The firm was founded in 2007 by Phillip Tyler and Hank Richard.

Tricia Macalka, a broker with ECCRE, represented Carolina Comfort Air, and Julie Stephenson, also a broker with ECCRE, represented the landlord.