Several mixed-use infill projects are in the works on Wilmington’s Castle Street.

Within the last month, developers submitted plans to the city of Wilmington for two new projects in the growing corridor, while other proposals in the area continue to wind their way through engineering and permitting.

The XII, proposed at 1201 Castle St.,  is one of the recently submitted projects. Plans propose renovating and adding a third floor to an existing two-story building at the northeast corner of Castle and South 12th Streets, said project architect Rob Romero, owner of Wilmington-based Romero Architecture.

“It’s more or less a big renovation,” he said about the project.

Site plans outline a final product with 18 studio units – each about 320 square feet – and a nearly 1,200-square-foot commercial space on the building’s ground floor. 

Romero said he drew inspiration from the "castle" in Castle Street when designing the building’s exterior. He included a crenulated brick design that’s reminiscent of the top of a castle wall, along with tall, narrow windows in each unit.

The project already went through the city’s pre-TRC process and is scheduled for technical review next month, Romero said.

This isn’t the only project Romero is working on in the Castle Street corridor. He also designed The Ollie, another infill development proposed about a block from The XII site. The project, developed by Hallmark Building, proposes a 24-unit apartment complex with ground-floor commercial space at 1315 Castle St. The project underwent technical review late last year, and engineering for The Ollie is currently wrapping up, according to Romero. (A rendering of The Ollie is shown below at right.)

Trey Galarde, a partner with Hallmark Building, told the Business Journal in November that his firm sees the potential for continued growth and development in the Castle Street corridor, boosted by the area’s widespread mixed-use zoning districts and the growing nearby Cargo District.

Another project in the works along Castle Street is Lynwood Flats, a three-story, mixed-use project with eight residential units and one ground-floor commercial space at 1812 Castle St. According to site plans, an office space would take up the building’s entire ground floor, with a mix of one- and two-bedroom units on the floors above. The project is under review, according to the city's website.

These developments are the latest in a series of infill projects pitched for the growing corridor. In late October, local developer Dave Spetrino submitted plans for a 15-unit apartment complex on Castle Street. Spetrino is also the developer behind Midcastle, a 89-unit apartment project with about 5,800 square feet of commercial space at 1110 Castle St., the site of a former Wave Transit bus maintenance facility.

Romero said he credits Midcastle and other early infill projects with giving other investors and developers the confidence to propose new projects in the corridor. He added that its mixed-use zoning helps make development easier and said the area is more open to unique and varied types of architecture and development compared to other parts of Wilmington.

“It’s not like a typical neighborhood,” Romero said. “You can do projects that look kind of on the modern side … it’s flexible, it’s open-minded, it’s an artistic street.”