Wilmington Realtor Jimmy Hopkins has resigned from Intracoastal Realty and is no longer heading up the sales of the condominium portion in a planned downtown redevelopment project.

Hopkins said Wednesday he's moving on to a new real estate venture that he will be able to announce soon.

Realtor Keith Beatty and the Keith Beatty Team of Intracoastal Realty have replaced Hopkins and his team in leading the sales of the condominiums at River Place, the 13-story mixed-use project that will replace the Water Street parking deck. 

"Keith Beatty has stepped in to manage this project to its completion over the next couple years," ​said Jim Wallace, CEO and founder of Intracoastal Realty.

In November 2015, Lee Perry of Chapel Hill-based East West Partners, the company partnering with the city of Wilmington on the deck redevelopment, announced that the Jimmy Hopkins Team of Intracoastal Realty would be leading the sales effort for River Place condos.

Of Hopkins' resignation, Wallace said, "I wish him well in his new endeavors."

River Place is expected to include 92 luxury condominiums, a new 403-space parking deck, 32,000 square feet of retail space and 79 high-end apartments. Wallace said more than 38 percent of the condos are under contract. Beatty and Wallace are among those who have pre-sales contracts to buy River Place condos, as well as Wilmington City Council members Kevin O'Grady and Margaret Haynes.
 
Previous announcements put the sales percentages for the condos under contract at more than half. Those were inaccurate, said Lucien Ellison, project manager for River Place. But interest has been high, and sales are expected to increase when potential buyers see the parking deck coming down, Ellison and Wallace said.
 
The demolition process is expected to start this month, after City Council approved 4-1 on Tuesday the latest amendment to the purchase and development agreement (PDA) between the city and East West Partners.  

An amendment related to the cost of the project was approved by officials in August. O'Grady and Haynes were recused from the vote Tuesday night and from the August decision, and Councilman Paul Lawler voted against the measures. 

The vote on the amendment Tuesday night was necessary "because the timing sequence of financing for the developer and the city don’t line up," according to a city news release last week. "The developer must complete their loan approval process before the city can get needed temporary project financing and this amendment would provide adequate time for [East West's] financing to be approved. Given the delays in financing approvals, the amended contract would also provide a delay in the transfer of air rights until Dec. 29."

Now that the latest PDA change is in place, the demolition process can move forward, officials said.

Wallace said River Place is destined to become a major landmark for the Port City.

"Intracoastal is really thrilled to be affiliated with this project. This represents, I think, the most exciting project in our downtown community’s history," Wallace said.