Cold storage developer Cold Summit Development has submitted plans for the first phase of its proposed facility next to the Port of Wilmington. 

The project is being planned on undeveloped property owned by the N.C. State Ports Authority off Raleigh Street.

Plans submitted to the city of Wilmington include a roughly 289,200-square-foot distribution center with loading docks and office space. 

In August 2021, the firm and the ports authority reached an agreement regarding the development.

“The facility would offer 40,000 pallet positions and could house a broad range of product categories, including pork, poultry, produce, grocery as well as life sciences at temperatures ranging from negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit to 57 degrees Fahrenheit,” the authority announced at the time. 

A second phase with an added 160,000 square feet and 17,000 pallet positions featuring an even colder temperature range is also planned. Per the agreement, the developer has 15 months to begin construction on the first phase, which must be completed no later than 25 months from its signing, a ports spokesperson previously told the Business Journal (this equates to roughly start and finish dates of November 2022 and September 2023. 

The $145 million planned investment will support perishable imports and exports with its flexible building design. “With the flexibility our facilities provide, the product flow can change over the years to meet consumer demand, and our building is able to simply adapt to meet the demand or current consumer environment,” Cold Summit Development CEO Scott Pertel said in a statement earlier this month. 

Once complete with the first phase, Cold Summit will notify the ports authority of its plans to carry out the project’s second phase. 

Stay tuned for more on the trend of cold storage development in this month's WilmingtonBiz Magazine.