A homebuilding company's employees prepared Tuesday to celebrate the official opening of the firm’s new design studio in downtown Wilmington.

In 2014, 70 West Builders leased more than 3,400 square feet of space in the two-story building at 127 Grace St. The company’s new design center is located in 1,500 square feet on the bottom floor, said Rebekah Carr, custom homes representative for 70 West Builders.

“We’ve got a full bathroom and kitchen, and everything is trimmed out and finished with items that we put in our new homes. It gives customers plenty of space to make selections and customize their own homes, to put their own twist on their personal houses,” Carr said.

Wilmington Downtown Inc. will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new design center at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Employees of 70 West Builders previously worked in Jacksonville before moving to their new downtown Wilmington offices at the end of last year and starting work on the design center, Carr said. 

“We build from Onlsow County down to Brunswick County, and Wilmington is a perfect location for us to have the design center accessible to our customers in the different directions,” Carr said.

Downtown’s hotels were another reason 70 West chose Wilmington as the place to relcoate, she said, pointing out that the downtown Courtyard by Marriott, 229 N. Second St., is across from the company’s new office and Hilton Wilmington Riverside & Riverview Suites, 301 N. Water St., nearby.

“We definitely have a big demographic of relocation buyers, and it’s nice to be able to encourage those buyers to come stay downtown and get a feel for the community and the atmosphere of our cute coastal town,” Carr said. “They can walk into the design center, and we can show them on the map where our neighborhoods are located and tell them a little bit about the homes that we build.”

Wilmington-area communities where 70 West Builders are constructing homes include River Bluffs, TidalWalk, Hampstead Landing and Brunswick Forest. Home prices start at $359,000 in River Bluffs and $230,000 in Hampstead Landing, according to examples on the 70 West Builders' website.