Wilmington-based commercial development firm Swain & Associates announced a leadership transition on Wednesday.

Company founder H. David Swain is stepping down as president, with his son, Jason Swain, taking over the role, according to a news release. The firm has developed an array of commercial projects in Wilmington and across North Carolina since David Swain started the firm nearly 50 years ago, including Wilmington retail center The Forum and Center Point, a mixed-use development under construction near the intersection of Eastwood and Military Cutoff roads.

The transition in leadership is the culmination of a multi-year succession plan, said Jason Swain, which involved streamlining aspects of the business to allow David Swain to step away from the day-to-day operations.

“He's essentially set us up for success,” Jason Swain said about his father. “It’s my obligation to continue the success, which I think we can do.”

David Swain will continue to serve as chairman of the company’s board, guiding strategic investment decisions and the company's long-term vision, according to the release.

David Swain founded Swain & Associates in 1979 after a stint with a life insurance company following college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In that first role, he was tasked with evaluating development investments for the firm.

A few years later, he left the company and, with a business partner, developed apartment complexes before forming his own firm. Throughout his career, David Swain said, he aimed to listen to the public and the market.

“If shopping centers were in need, we built shopping centers. If apartments were needed, we built apartments,” he said. “We just did whatever the market called for, so that's been my career.”

His first local project was The Forum, a shopping center he developed in an area that was then considered the outskirts of Wilmington. He built the retail center in response to a desire from Landfall residents for more restaurants and shops nearby.

“Military Cutoff Road was just an open road with cow pastures on one side, corn fields on the other,” he said, “but it was near the new Landfall project that was coming out of the ground, and so I decided to build a shopping center.”

David Swain said The Forum remains one of his favorite projects, and it was an impetus for Center Point, one of the firm’s current projects. The mixed-use development is slated to include 265 luxury apartments, along with retail and office space on a 23-acre site. The project's first apartments and retail spaces are expected to be completed this summer, according to Jason Swain.

Over his career, David Swain has developed more than 54 apartment communities totaling more than 4,415 units and has developed or redeveloped over 125 shopping centers, office buildings and warehouses exceeding 4.5 million square feet, according to the release.

Beyond his real estate ventures, David Swain also built and operated consumer brands. He acquired and expanded Video Wiz, a North Carolina-based video rental retail chain, which he sold to Movie Gallery in 2004. He later acquired and grew Port City Java both domestically and internationally before selling the company in 2011, the release stated.

About 25 years ago, Jason Swain joined Swain & Associates after graduating from college at UNC-Chapel Hill to learn the family business, he said. Over the years, he’s been involved in the company’s development and leasing, financing and operational strategy, according to the release.

As he takes the helm of the company, Jason Swain said there won’t be much change in the way they do business.

“We’re going to keep on doing what we’ve been doing,” he said. “Not a lot of companies survive intergenerationally, and it's really hard to be successful over a long period of time unless you're slow and methodical and really watch what you're doing and try to focus on what you're doing well.”

“Things are changing,” Jason Swain added, “but things will sort of stay the same at the same time.”