It borders one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the region, and yet most brokers will contend that the Porters Neck area of New Hanover County is also one of the most underserved retail markets in the county.

But that could all change in the coming months. 

The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners in August unanimously approved a request by Beckley, W.Va.-based Paramount Development Corporation to rezone roughly 15.91 acres in Porters Neck from residential to a “highway business” conditional zoning district for a new $35 million retail, 250,000-square-foot development in the 8100 block of Market Street. The site’s other 28 acres are already zoned commercial.

Plans call for the retail center to be anchored by the 189,544-square-foot Walmart Supercenter that will include an additional 61,180-square-foot shopping center with additional outparcels for future retail development.

This is being called one of the largest commercial transactions in the region, and its impact may have far reaching effects in Porters Neck. 

Area brokers are reporting increased inquiries for space in existing shopping centers and land parcels since county officials approved the mammoth retail development that was nearly three years in the making. 

Many of the properties getting attention from businesses are small – some not even exceeding two acres.  

Gerald Evans, a broker with Wilmington-based Laney Real Estate Company who helped forged the transaction between Paramount, New Hanover Regional Medical Center and the Wilmington Family YMCA, said there are a number of parcels he has listed in the vicinity that are receiving increased inquiries.

Besides the future retail development parcel, which is set to close in the coming 90 days, Evans also has 3.2 acres at 7755 Market St., south of the future retail development, and a seven-acre tract near the Interstate 140 and U.S. Highway 17 interchange. He’s getting a steady stream of inquiries about these properties since Walmart announced plans to establish roots in Porters Neck. 

“We have gotten a lot of interest and we’re in the process of talking with several different chains,” Evans said, carefully not disclosing the identities of retailers looking to build in the area. “It feels as if Walmart will have a lot of interested people talking and starting to move forward with their plans, and will be a good thing for that area.” 

Another factor helping to drive retail interest and development is new residential construction in the Porters Neck area.

Those developments include Amberleigh Shores, a 282-unit complex that’s currently under construction at 7910 Market St. near the Marsh Oaks neighborhood, and the current expansion of The Parks at Three Oaks apartment community along Amaryllis Drive. 

Adam Sosne, owner of Wilmington- based MFH Construction, also plans to launch construction later this summer on his latest multifamily venture: the Stephens Pointe apartment complex – an $18 million, 240-unit development set to rise at 8799 Stephens Church Road.

The area is also seeing heightened permitting activity for new single-family homes.

The area is also home to a high-income bracket population with expendable income – second only to Landfall, according to U.S. Census data – that has been underserved for years. 

That fact has some brokers who represent existing shopping centers feeling bullish about leasing prospects in the area. 

Nicholas Silivanch, vice president of retail leasing and acquisitions with Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners and principal broker with Team Silivanch, along with fellow broker Mark Johnson, are currently leasing space at the Porters Neck Shopping Center.

The neighborhood-anchored development is located at 8207 Market St. – north of the future Walmart retail development. 

Silivanch said the development would only help aid efforts to fill the shopping center. 

“Future retail in that area will see enhanced benefits from infrastructure improvement made by the DOT, further residential development and future retail as well as existing retail,” he said. “It’s only going to get stronger.” 

Evans said as 2014 comes closer, he expects development inquiries to continue. 

“Obviously it’s the next growth area of the northern part of the county, and the upscale communities make it attractive. It’s a very strong market with lots of potential for growth and we’re starting to see those effects.”