Commercial development in midtown Wilmington is “definitely steady,” said Hill Rogers, broker in charge at Wilmington-based Cameron Management.

Nearly 10 years ago, Rogers’ company provided a midtown catalyst by developing, along with Charlotte-based Collett, The Pointe at Barclay. The Pointe is a movie theater-anchored dining and service complex off South 17th Street and Independence Boulevard.

“The Pointe helped to put midtown on the map,” Rogers said, “I’d be curious to know the tax value of all new development in midtown over the past 10 years. The Pointe is almost completely built out, but across Gallery Park Boulevard, there is more land available for development to support multifamily and commercial development.”

He said commercial development as a whole has been muted in the past three years because of elevated interest rates, “but if you factor in civic, health care and business-driven development, there is a lot of activity. And if you look back 10 years, then midtown has been as busy as any other Wilmington submarket.”

In addition to The Pointe at Barclay, examples Rogers cited include the growth of Live Oak Bank’s campus, the upcoming Novant Health redevelopment of the former Verizon building on Shipyard Boulevard into clinics, and Midtown Park, which features a 60,000-square-foot Wilmington Health office building.

He also noted the recent remodeling of Hanover Center, 3501 Oleander Drive, a shopping complex that officially opened in 1956.

In recent years, national retailers have been choosing to locate at Hanover Center and other parts of midtown for a variety of reasons, brokers and developers say.

National retailer Boot Barn (NYSE: BOOT) signed a lease this year at Hanover Center for a little over 14,000 square feet.

The store is next to Homesense, a furniture and home decor store that opened at Hanover Center in 2023.

Crews are working on the space with an estimated opening in early 2026.

Boot Barn, which offers cowboy boots and other Western wear, began with one store in 1978 and has since expanded to more than 465 stores across 49 states, along with an e-commerce channel, according to the company’s website.

Hanover Center’s location at Oleander Drive and Independence Boulevard “is one of the most notable intersections with tremendous traffic flow, population density and great demographics,” said Randy Kelley of Harbour Real Estate Partners.

Kelley’s firm owns Hanover Center in a joint venture with national real estate company Perform Properties (formerly ShopCore).

Another reason: “The combined intersection with Hanover Center, the mall and Whole Foods across the street presents successful retail/restaurant, both big and small and both regional and national in the mix,” Kelley said. “Lastly, midtown is a great central location in Wilmington to serve the entire market.”

Wawa, a privately held gas station and convenience store company with 1,100 locations, primarily on the East Coast, broke ground this summer on its first location in Wilmington. The company chose a midtown spot at Wellington Avenue and South 17th Street.

Wawa officials project the store to open in the second quarter of 2026.

“Over the years, we’ve heard from so many customers in the Wilmington area saying how much they miss us and want us to come closer to them,” said Wawa spokesperson Alyson Mucha.