The New Hanover Community Endowment is set to lease more space on the fourth floor of a downtown building at the corner of North Third and Chestnut streets.

The Wilmington City Council unanimously authorized City Manager Tony Caudle to execute a lease with endowment officials for the entire fourth floor of the city’s building at 115 N. Third St. earlier this week. The new lease expands the endowment’s presence on the building's fourth floor and replaces an existing lease executed in April 2023.

Leasing up the 115 N. Third St. office building is among the city’s top real estate priorities, Aubrey Parsley, the city’s director of economic development, recently told the Business Journal. Parsley said the city aims to “stabilize” the building by leasing more space to boost its eventual resale value.

City leaders purchased the five-story office building for $11 million in 2022 to accommodate the city’s office space needs. But after its purchase of Skyline Center, the former PPD headquarters at 929 N. Front St., the city moved offices out of 115 N. Third St. and into the new campus.

The 115 N. Third St. building became one of several city-owned properties declared surplus, following the city’s $68 million acquisition of the Skyline Center campus.

According to leasing documents, the endowment’s initial five-year lease term began Feb. 1 and ends Jan. 31, 2030. After the initial lease term expires, the endowment has the option to renew the lease for an additional four years and 11 months. The rental rate for the first year will be $19,330 per month, escalating 2.5% each year.

According to Parsley, the city is finalizing a listing agreement with Cape Fear Commercial to lease the building’s remaining vacant suites. About 16,000 square feet remain available on the building’s first through third floors. Parsley said he expects the space to hit the market this month or in March.

The city is also in the final stages of executing a lease with the U.S. General Services Administration for the entire fifth floor of 115 N. Third St. In August, the Wilmington City Council authorized a lease with the federal agency. The initial lease has a 10-year term with an annual rental rate of $498,000 with periodic increases and the option to renew the lease for an additional five years.

In addition to leasing up 115 N. Third St., Parsley said the city is focused on listing developable tracts adjacent to Skyline Center at 1001 and 1021 N. Front St. and the former Southeast Command Center at 2451 College Road for sale. 

Read more about the city’s surplus properties and real estate priorities in the February issue of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal. The issue is mailed to Business Journal subscribers beginning Feb. 7.