More parking could be coming to Wilmington’s Soda Pop District.

Plans submitted to the city of Wilmington propose a new parking lot at the corner of Market and North 10th streets with more than 30 spaces. The plans also include stormwater, landscaping, accessibility and circulation improvements on the site.

Charlotte-based real estate investment firm Cuadra Capital submitted the project plans last month. In May, the firm purchased four properties in the Soda Pop District for nearly $16 million, including the Bottle Works building at 921 Princess St. and 1020 Princess St., which houses Hi-Wire Brewing.

Cuadra Capital’s acquisition also included 909 Market St., a building leased to The School of Wonder, and 920 Princess St., which is occupied by a CrossFit gym, among other businesses. The two buildings border the proposed lot, but, according to site plans, their footprints won’t be impacted by the project.

The expanded parking aims to “accommodate the growing consumer demand as this district continues to become the popular destination for dining, arts and leisure,” Brian Purcell, Cuadra Capital’s founder and managing partner, wrote in an email to the Business Journal on Friday.

The lot, slated for a currently vacant site, would include 31 standard parking spaces, along with two ADA-compliant spots and two spaces for electric vehicles. Site plans show the lot would have driveway access from North 10th Street, along with an underground infiltration basin for on-site stormwater management.

According to application documents, the developers are asking city planners to allow the expansion of the parking lot within 20 feet of the right-of-way and within 35 feet of the street corner – standards that can be waived by the technical review committee (TRC) when a site is developed with a building that is being adaptively reused. The application points to the school and gym uses at 909 Market St. and 920 Princess St., respectively, as adaptive reuse examples. 

According to a notice from the city, the parking lot plans are scheduled for TRC review on Nov. 5.

Purcell told the Business Journal in August that the firm's future investments in the Soda Pop District will focus on the building at 920 Princess St., including infrastructure upgrades to the vacant commercial space at the corner of North 10th and Princess streets to attract a restaurant. Purcell said he also envisions more retail spaces at 920 Princess St. to mirror the storefronts in the Bottle Works building.

The Greater Downtown Plan, which was adopted earlier this year by city leaders, identifies an increasing demand for parking in areas around downtown, particularly in emerging districts such as the Soda Pop District.