An industrial real estate investment and development firm plans to convert some offices back into warehouse space after purchasing a 100,000-square-foot warehouse on 23rd Street in Wilmington.

Edgewater Ventures bought 1519 23rd St., near the Wilmington International Airport, for a little over $6 million from Southside Holdings LLC, according to New Hanover County property tax records.

About half of the building is leased by Alcami, a pharmaceutical and biotech contract development and manufacturing organization based in Wilmington. The structure is not Alcami's headquarters, which are located nearby off 23rd Street at 2320 Scientific Park Drive.

The rest of the building is home to smaller office tenants with short-term leases, according to Chris Norvell of Edgewater Ventures.

"Our intention is to actually convert that 50,000-square-feet back to more of a warehouse use to lease to a larger warehouse tenant," Norvell said this week.

He added, "I think the tightness in the industrial market enables us to execute a business plan like that."

A demanding industrial market in Wilmington has been keeping commercial real estate brokers and developers busy this year, including Edgewater Ventures, which has been growing its presence in the Cape Fear region.

In May, a Virginia-based investment firm announced its purchase of a local industrial facility, leased by Pacon Manufacturing for its headquarters, in a nearly $19 million deal Edgewater Ventures officials were also involved in.

Gladstone Commercial Corp. (NASDAQ: GOOD) bought the 345,584-square-foot industrial manufacturing and distribution warehouse, on nearly 60 acres at 100 Quality Drive in Navassa, for $18.8 million, according to a news release.

The seller was Quality Drive Partners Holdings LLC, including Edgewater Ventures officials.

Over the past three years, Edgewater has purchased and developed 1.3 million square feet of industrial facilities in the area.