A new immersive escape room is gearing up to open in downtown Wilmington later this week.

Game Over Escape Room is slated to open Friday at 224 N. Front St., the former home of Shaw University. Entrepreneur Logan Zanki bought the building in June for more than $950,000, according to property records, and spent the summer renovating the building and converting it into a series of escape rooms with the help of a team of Greek designers.

The business features four themed escape rooms, including the Harry Potter-inspired School of Magic, Lost City of Atlantis, Horror Circus and Illuminati. Each escape room includes a series of interactive clues that lead participants through three to five rooms, depending on the theme, Zanki said. Participants have an hour to escape but can receive hints through a screen installed in each escape room. Game Over staff can also provide hints if groups get stuck.

Zanki said the escape rooms stand out from others in the area because of the immersive experience they offer. One escape room, for example, features walls designed to look like carved stone and a bookshelf while another includes a live waterfall with vivid blue and green lighting. (A photo inside the Lost City of Atlantis is shown at right.)

“This is not your normal escape room; it’s an attraction with an escape,” Zanki said. “So when you're in these environments, you’re gonna feel like you're actually there.”

Zanki, who owns several local businesses, initially set out to establish an indoor bounce house venue, but when he couldn’t find a suitable space, he looked into other options. He then came across Game Over Escape Rooms. 

The Greek company has 650 escape rooms worldwide, including locations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America. The Wilmington escape room will become the company’s fifth U.S. location, Zanki said.

Shortly after learning about the company, Zanki flew to Florida to experience one of the company’s escape rooms firsthand. Last fall, he decided to establish a local franchise, buying a market area that extends from Myrtle Beach to Raleigh.

After buying the 224 N. Fourth St. building this summer, weeks of work went into upfitting its interior and exterior.

“When we first bought the building, there was an unbearable smell in here, mold damage, there was all kinds of stuff,” Zanki said. “We had to remove all the flooring, insulation, ceiling tiles, replace the AC, do the roof, a bunch of stuff.”

The more than 5,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1960, according to property records, and has been vacant in recent years. Property records show Shaw University purchased the building in Aug. 1990 for $155,000. The building had housed a local adult degree program for Shaw.

Later this summer, a team of 10 designers flew in from Greece to install the escape room interior. Props, decor and other elements arrived in Wilmington in a 40-foot shipping container this summer, Zanki said. (A photo of a carved clown from inside Horror Circus is shown at left.)

Eventually, Zanki said, he plans to install a staircase and more escape rooms on the building's second floor. He's also eyeing the potential of expanding into the Myrtle Beach and Raleigh markets in future years.

With the escape room nearing an opening, Zanki said he’s stepping back and handing the reins to manager Nadine Shtab, who will oversee the location's day-to-day operations. The escape rooms can be booked ahead online with ticket prices starting at $44.99 per person. According to the company's website, groups can range from two to eight people.