Cape Fear Development, a Wilmington-based company with projects throughout the Southeast, is bringing its Proximity brand of residential and mixed-use projects to new areas.
CFD hopes to start Blue Clay Proximity, a 236-townhome rental community, in 2026, said Brian Eckel, a partner with Cape Fear Development. The project is planned on 28 acres across from Trask Family Farms on Blue Clay Road, just south of Interstate 140 in New Hanover County.
“We are waiting on water and sewer extensions on Blue Clay that CFPUA is currently expanding and plan to start construction Q1 2026,” Eckel said in an email to the Business Journal.
He said work on Proximity Surf City, set to hold 400 units beside Hudson Bishop Creek, could begin in the third quarter of next year. Cape Fear Development is co-developing Proximity Surf City with Hudson Capital.
“Proximity Surf City will have direct access to (N.C.) 210 and Charlie Medlin Drive, 1.2 miles to the Surf City Bridge,” Eckel said. “Cape Fear Development purchased the site a few years ago and has been waiting on sewer capacity, which just recently became available.”
The Proximity name also extends beyond Wilmington: As of August, CFD planned to start Proximity Chesapeake in Virginia, a mixed-use community with 20,000 square feet of commercial space and 198 residential units, during the third quarter of 2025.
Eckel said CFD also owns a luxury apartment community, Proximity New Bern, which has 252 units and is located in the heart of New Bern.
Meanwhile, work has been moving ahead on three Proximity-branded projects from CFD that together are slated to bring more than 750 new apartments to the Wilmington area.
Construction is largely complete at Proximity Carolina Beach, a mixed-use project with 250 apartments and 35,000 square feet of commercial space in Carolina Beach.
Construction is underway at Proximity Watermark, a 248-unit luxury apartment complex along the Cape Fear River, and site work recently started for Proximity Government Center, a 256-unit apartment project off College Road.
At the Carolina Beach complex, 93% of the residential units have been leased, Eckel said.
The apartment complex includes studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and private balconies. Proximity Carolina Beach features “resort-style amenities,” including a clubhouse, saltwater pool, an outdoor fireplace and grills, a boutique fitness center, coworking and business spaces and an on-site dog park.
Leasing the complex’s ground-floor commercial space has been successful. Businesses currently open include local chains K-38 Baja Mexican Grill, Boombalatti’s Homemade Ice Cream and Drift Coffee & Kitchen. Riko’s Pizza, a Connecticut-based pizzeria that specializes in thin-crust pizza and baked wings, and Noé Nail & Hair Lounge are set to open in Proximity Carolina Beach later this month.
Residential real estate firm Nest Realty and Embody Pilates, a pilates and training studio, are slated to open later this year, while an upscale coastal women’s clothing store, Reflect Boutique, is coming next summer.
About 10 miles to the north, construction is underway on Proximity Watermark, a project located on a roughly 40-acre site once occupied by a marina. The project broke ground last fall, and the first of the project’s two four-story buildings is set for completion in January, Eckel said. The second will be completed soon after.
The project has a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans, with “high-end interior finishes,” including natural wood cabinets, quartz countertops, marble-style tile, stainless steel appliances, matte black fixtures and spacious balconies.
The complex features a rooftop deck that looks out over the community’s pool and onto the Cape Fear River, along with an 800-foot-long pier that will be outfitted with two outdoor kitchens and three cabanas made out of cargo containers, Eckel said. Other amenities include a golf simulator, grilling stations, a fitness center, clubhouse, coworking space and business center, a dog park and fire pits.
Last month, crews broke ground on a new roundabout on River Road at the primary entrance to Proximity Watermark. The $2.4 million project, which is being funded by the city of Wilmington, the Riverlights community and Proximity Watermark, will help “improve traffic flow and safety” in the area, Eckel said.
Site work also began last month on Cape Fear Development’s Proximity Government Center project. The project also is set to include studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, along with a dedicated restaurant space and “elevated” amenities.
The project is the final phase of Cape Fear Development’s public-private partnership with New Hanover County. The project is located on land adjacent to the redeveloped New Hanover County Government Center, a project that wrapped up in 2022.
