Plans for a new apartment complex are moving ahead near downtown Wilmington.

The project, which site plans refer to as Sapphire on 5th, would include 82 apartments and just over 850 square feet of commercial space. Planned for 418 Wooster St., the complex is one of several residential buildings that have popped up in the Wooster Street corridor in recent years.

Developers submitted plans for Sapphire on 5th to Wilmington leaders last week for technical review, a process that helps ensure developments meet city standards. As of Monday afternoon, the date of the project’s review wasn’t publicly available.

Rodney Williams, owner and manager of Wilmington-based firm Franklin Construction Inc., is behind the apartment plans. Williams told the Business Journal last fall that he hoped the project would tap into the increasing popularity and reach of residential development beyond the traditional bounds of Wilmington’s downtown area.

Williams purchased the project site – a 1.7-acre piece of land that’s bordered by Wooster, Fourth and Dawson Streets and Fifth Avenue – in December 2021 for $325,000, according to property records. 

The complex is set to include 61 one-bedroom units and 21 two-bedroom units across three, three-story buildings on the site. Plans also include 852 square feet of commercial space, located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Wooster Street, along with 114 on-site parking spaces. Williams secured a variance last August from the Wilmington Board of Adjustment for the complex’s off-street parking and driveway access.

Williams told the Business Journal on Monday that he expects the project to break ground in October.

Residential growth has continued to creep along the Wooster Street corridor in recent years with complexes like The Pearl, The Mini Pearl and The Jewel, which are located across Wooster Street from Williams' proposed complex.