While greater Wilmington is poised to grow significantly over the next 40 years, the area’s quality of life and cornucopia of residential housing means nothing unless cities and counties in the region embrace economic opportunities that transcends geographical boundaries.

Nearly 250 civic leaders and are residents gathered at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside in downtown Wilmington on Thursday morning at the FOCUS Regional Alternative Futures Breakfast and Forum event.

FOCUS, a federally-funded initiative aimed at streamlining regional resources for economic, recreational and development purposes for New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties, sponsored the event – aimed at exploring the dynamics that make metro Wilmington an attractive place to live and work.

The meeting was also attended by a number of public officials, including Wilmington mayor Bill Saffo and Leland mayor Brenda Bozeman.

David J. Stamm, project manager of Renaissance Planning Group, a firm FOCUS contracted to help study the region’s assets, growth patterns and challenges, told attendees to expect moderate-to-fast growth over the coming decades.

Stamm told planners and residents to expect between 190,000 and 325,000 new residents to move to the region over the next 25 years – nearly doubling the region’s population.

“While most of the people are living in New Hanover County right now because of its more centralized population basin, it’s going to start decentralizing over time,” Stamm said.

But despite the region’s growth appeal to residents, Stamm warned that the region could risk losing its economic competitiveness – long a conundrum for regional leaders.

Referencing a recent report from Garner Economics about New Hanover County’s economic development efforts, Stamm said regional officials must work together to develop and maintain a unified economic development vision. He added the lack of readily available industrial and office sites outside of Wilmington could also deter new job growth.

“Some of your challenges are lack of skilled workers in certain sectors, such as industrial and managerial occupation,” Stamm said. “Your per capita income per person here … is lower than the U.S. average and North Carolina as well.”

He added that wages per sector are also lower – possibly making it difficult to recruit younger and more experienced workers to the region.

Alan Steinbeck, a project manager with Renaissance Planning Group, said the region must find ways to link economic and community development with core quality of life goals and initiatives.

“There are numerous, neighboring local governments that have their own decision making processes and own way of doing business,” Steinbeck said. “And that in itself, there are so many agencies and institutions within that small area change that requires a regional approach.”

Steinbeck said as the region grows, it must identify policies that embrace a variety of development choices to accommodate a diverse influx of residents and businesses. He said as greater Wilmington grows, it needs a coordinated regional effort to advance growth policy and prioritize investments.