An office and retail building that was on its way to completion before the coronavirus pandemic started affecting Wilmington will now have some new touches, so to speak.

The project, Bradley Creek Station, consists of more than 80,000 square feet on three floors at 5815 Oleander Drive. 

Developer Parker Anderson of SAMM Properties said when the novel coronavirus COVID-19 became an issue, "we reached out to our contractor to see what changes could be made to the interior of the building."

It turned out there were several options.

"We installed motion sensor fixtures in all the restrooms and have automatic doors to the entrances to the office portion of the building," Anderson said. "We also spoke with our janitorial company and they have ordered motion sensor hand-sanitizing stations for both entrances to the office portion of the building.

"They have also ordered a product from a company called NanoSeptic that is a self cleaning/sanitizing door handle strip that can be installed on door handles."

According to a CDC statement May 22, the primary way COVID-19 is transmitted is through close contact from person to person.

"Based on data from lab studies on COVID-19 and what we know about similar respiratory diseases, it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this isn’t thought to be the main way the virus spreads," the CDC explained in the statement.

That doesn't mean people should let their guard down when it comes to surface contact or touching their faces, subsequent news reports stated. And several remain skittish about the possibility of transmission through touching surfaces that many others have touched.

The CDC recently issued extensive new guidelines for offices, including everything from ventilation system changes to daily health checks. The guidelines address surfaces, saying, "Routinely clean all frequently touched surfaces in the workplace, such as workstations, keyboards, telephones, handrails, printer/copiers, drinking fountains, and doorknobs."

At Bradley Creek Station, progress continues toward openings.

"McKinley Building is currently upfitting First Carolina Bank and Crabby Chic and is about to begin the upfits for Angel Oak Home Loans and Big Sky Design," Anderson said, naming Bradley Creek Station tenants. "We anticipate Crabby Chic opening by no later than the last week of June and First Carolina Bank opening soon after." 

The third floor, which has 26,700 square feet, is still available, Anderson said.

SAMM Properties currently has "two different clients looking at the remaining space on the second floor," Anderson said. "We also have one retail unit remaining on the first floor between Crabby Chic and Big Sky Design and that unit is 3,900 square feet."

Commercial broker Steve Hall, partner in Wilmington-based commercial real estate firm Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co., is the listing agent for the property.

Hall said in an email Friday, "Now that we are well into the second phase of opening North Carolina, our call volume and showings have picked up. We've noticed that the criteria for suite size has increased to help with distancing and the interested parties feel more comfortable knowing we are thinking ahead on the best practices to keep the property clean as possible.

"I get the sense people are ready to get back to work and establish the new normal mode of living." 

In a statement on the SAMM Properties website, Anderson said, “We believe this area of town is really transforming with the thriving residential community of Summerwalk, Wrightsville Beach Brewery, the planned development by Evolve at the old movie theater site, and the transformation of many residential houses on Oleander into boutique offices and retail."