More apartments are in the works near an area in Wilmington where construction activity has increased in the past few months as new residential developments take shape, according to site plans submitted Wednesday to the city.
Symphony Properties of Cary wants to build 256 apartments in a four-building complex called Independence West, on about 15 acres in the 3800 and 3900 blocks of Independence Boulevard near Echo Farms.
The city’s Technical Review Committee is expected to consider the plans in October, said Blair Booth, manager of Symphony Properties. Booth’s company is also developing Sawmill Point, a four-story, 278-unit apartment project at 15 Cowan St. in downtown Wilmington.
As the Independence West plans go under review, several developments planned for Wilmington’s midtown are also moving forward.
Cameron Management Inc. is working on Gallery Park Apartments near George Anderson and South 17th Street. Hill Rogers, broker-in-charge for Cameron Management, said he hopes the first of the complex’s buildings will be ready by late spring or early summer 2015, with 258 to 275 units planned for the first phase.
Eventually, according to plans, the complex will have 14 buildings and more than 400 units.
Brokers and developers say they expect the popularity of apartments to stay on the rise.
“I think there’s going to be continued growth and demand for rental housing for a variety of reasons,” Booth said. “I think demographic changes are occurring. I think the choice of owning versus renting is not as distinct as it has been in the past with a society that’s much more mobile. If you’re not putting stakes in the ground and raising children, then owning a home might not be a wise choice. I think we’re going to see the demand curve continue to rise with a greater percentage of rental versus home ownership.”
Citing another related reason, Rogers said, “The research is telling you that there’s so little undeveloped land in New Hanover County that the realtors and the builders don’t have land to build new homes, and for better or worse, a new home, if it’s done the right way and competitively priced, sells over a second-generation home more often than not.”
Details about the businesses likely to open in Gallery Park, a planned mixed-use development that includes Gallery Park Apartments, are not expected to be nailed down any time soon, Rogers said.
“We’re in discussions with several different anchor-type users currently, but it’s too early to mention anything at the moment,” Rogers said recently.
The extension of sewer lines into the development is one of the first steps. “We’re doing everything to try to set the table to be ready to go,” Rogers said.
At Independence and South 17th Street, where a neighborhood called The Forks at Gallery Park is planned, developers expect to start construction on 52 townhomes soon, possibly in November, said Shawn Horton, a broker and owner of Trusst Builder Group.
Trusst is a partner in the group developing The Forks, which also includes Cameron Management.
The townhomes will be going up in the northern section of The Forks, which is located on each side of Cameron Art Museum, while 72 single-family homes are planned for the other section.
One Midtown Apartments, a complex under construction off Independence and Shipyard boulevards in Tiburon Parc, is the closest to completion among some of the new and planned dwellings in the same area.
If all goes according to plan, the first units of 223 total will be ready for renters to move into by November, said Brian Eckel, co-founder of Cape Fear Commercial.
