A New York-based real estate firm is making progress toward creating a modern industrial park on U.S. 421 after buying an 80-acre site last month.

Officials with Treeline, which develops and invests in office, multifamily and industrial properties, said in a news release this week that they have signed on their first tenant in Treeline Industrial Park, 2830 U.S. 421 North in New Hanover County. They have also chosen a general contractor for the $18 million project.

Treeline's plans include rehabilitation of the site’s existing 115,000-square-foot industrial facility, the release stated. 

According to the release, a national distributor leased 36,000 square feet within the existing building, to be used for distribution within the region. Treeline officials would not disclose the name of the tenant.

“The explosion of the Wilmington market has driven local, regional and national companies to establish a hub presence in Wilmington,” said Daniel Schor, chief business development officer at Treeline, in the release. 

Despite recent economic news and hints of a possible recession, Schor said he remains optimistic about the industrial market's future here.

"Our investment corridors in the Southeast – in both Wilmington and elsewhere in the Carolinas – continue to experience a high level of demand from tenants for new Class A facilities," Schor said in an email Thursday in response to a question about the state of the economy. "While we continue to monitor the current economic climate, the outlook in these markets is stable and we see signs of continued growth in the immediate moment."

Schor said Treeline is seeing "tremendous interest" from prospective tenants, including inquiries for built-to-suit options at the park, the release stated. A different tenant occupies 44,000 square feet of the park's existing facility, leaving about 35,000 square feet available for lease. 

Steve Hall, a partner in Wilmington-based Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co., represented Treeline in the recent lease. The asking rent was $8.60 per square foot, triple net, according to the release. 

Treeline chose Wilmington-based Burgess Corp. as the general contractor for the industrial park. 

Vince Burgess, president at Burgess Corp., said in the release, “Drawing on the wisdom and experience from more than 40 years of leading commercial and industrial projects throughout the United States, we are excited to bring this new, much-needed asset to the Wilmington region.”