Local developers bought a 5-acre property next door to Vertex Railcar Corp. on Raleigh Street in a recent $479,000 deal.

Raleigh Street Investments LLC purchased 250 Raleigh St., which includes a 13,000-square-foot office building that used to house a furniture business, from South State Bank, according to a deed recorded June 29 in New Hanover County.

Developer Steve Anderson of Raleigh Street Investments, whose projects have included Mayfaire office buildings, said the company sees 250 Raleigh St. as an investment property and is in the process of sprucing up the building inside and out, including landscaping.

“We have had our eye on this building for a good while and, with the reported plans to extend Raleigh Street, felt like it was the right time to move on it,” Anderson said last week. He said the building “allows for a great deal of expansion in an industrial zone.”

Brokers Hansen Matthews and Steve Hall of Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co., handled the transaction.

In March, local and state officials agreed to pay for the Raleigh Street extension Anderson referenced. To accommodate Vertex Rail's plans, Wilmington and New Hanover County governing boards said they would contribute $300,000 each to help pay for the extension of Raleigh Street to River Road, with the N.C. Department of Transportation contributing the remaining $900,000 needed. 

Several Raleigh Street real estate transactions followed the November announcement by Vertex that the company would build rail cars in the former Terex Crane facility at 202 Raleigh St. In December, Industrial Realty Group bought 202 Raleigh St., which is leased by Vertex, for $6 million from Terex Crane, according to New Hanover County property tax records.

IRG is the master developer for the $470 million Pro Football Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio, according to stories published in June by CantonRep.com, the website for The Repository newspaper.

Asked last month about whether IRG might be planning to rehabilitate or buy other industrial properties in Wilmington, IRG’s director of real estate Onno Steger said in an email:  “IRG is always looking for opportunities to repurpose or redevelop facilities throughout the country.”

In response to the question, “What are your thoughts about the prospects for the Wilmington industrial real estate market?” Steger wrote, “We believe Wilmington has a great workforce and is a great place to live. The Cape Fear Community College network has streamlined the process of recruiting high-quality, skilled employees in the area. We have been impressed with the local leaders and community support.”