When an aquarium fish business leased space recently to open a new store in Eastwood Commons, the shopping center became completely occupied for the first time in its eight-year history.
Hank Adams, broker and vice president of office and investment properties at Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners, announced this week that both the shopping center and a building nearby that houses Blue Moon Gift Shops are at full capacity.
At the shopping center, The Fish Room, a store that sells freshwater and saltwater fish, live coral, aquarium supplies and other related items, is expected to open in the fall in a 1,500-square-foot space.
“In the past year or two, demand for retail space with visibility has grown, and that space has visibility,” Adams said of Eastwood Commons.
The Fish Room already operates a store in Raleigh and one in Cary.
In August, Port City Popcorn opened its doors in a 1,200-square-foot unit in the center, celebrating its grand opening Sept. 20. Terrie Wallace, who owns Port City Popcorn with her husband, quit her full-time job as an anesthesia technician at New Hanover Regional Medical Center to work full time in the popcorn shop, which also sells frosted nuts.
The center’s location, 420 Eastwood Road, was one of the deciding factors for the Wallaces when it came to choosing Eastwood Commons.
“It’s on the north end of the county, and it’s on the way to the beach,” Terrie Wallace said.
The Assistance League of Greater Wilmington, the local chapter of a national nonprofit community service organization, opened a 3,000-square-foot thrift store in the middle of Eastwood Commons earlier this year, hosting a grand opening March 15.
At 203 Racine Drive, home of Blue Moon Gift Shops, three second-floor units have been leased to various tenants: CMC Building Inc., which specializes in U.S. government contracts; Longwave Yoga, which is leasing a 650-square-foot unit to add to its current 1,500 square feet of space in the building; and Enjoy Movement Studio, a pilates, Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis exercise business owned by Emily Hudson.
Before these changes, it had been two years since the building was fully occupied, Adams said.