Awarded a $14 million contract from the Port of Wilmington in December, a Jacksonville-based company plans to move to the Port City in about two months, the firm’s owner said Wednesday.

Burgess Corp., a construction and project management company founded in 1974, is buying a 13,000-square-foot office building at 250 Raleigh St., adjacent to Vertex Railcar Corp.

Company owner Vince Burgess said his firm's projects include marine, heavy industrial, electrical and mechanical needs in the area.

“A preponderance of our work recently has come from Wilmington, so it just makes sense to be closer,” he said.

The company is currently working to widen the turning basin at the Port of Wilmington, a project expected to help bring in larger vessels.

“From our perspective the project continues to be a priority in our infrastructure investment plan. It is slated for a late June finish,” said port spokesman Cliff Pyron in an email Wednesday.

In March, the N.C. State Ports Authority announced that it was moving forward with a $100 million investment in infrastructure improvements in Wilmington and at the Port of Morehead City.

Burgess said another reason his company, which has about 50 full-time employees, is moving to Wilmington is the workforce. 

“The availability of manpower is good for us, and it's more in line with the work we do,” he said.

In addition to the Cape Fear region, Burgess Corp. works on projects all over the country, including Hawaii and Alaska.

The company is buying the Raleigh Street building for an undisclosed amount, Burgess said. The facility will be used mainly as offices, with the planned addition of conduit and piping fabrication capabilities in the next two years, he said.

Steve Hall, a broker with Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co. in Wilmington, is representing building owner Steve Anderson in the transaction.

Raleigh Street Investments LLC, managed by Anderson, purchased 250 Raleigh St. last summer for $479,000, according to the deed recorded in New Hanover County.

Hall and Anderson said the extension of Raleigh Street to River Road has helped generate business interest in the area.

"I just think with Raleigh Street opening all the way to River Road and having access right here to the port, that anything on Raleigh Street is certainly more valuable now because of this road extension," Anderson said. "That's a great addition to not only this property but any of the office or industrial users in the neighborhood."