Construction has begun on an affordable senior living apartment project at 205 Middle Sound Loop Road in Wilmington.

The developers of the Residence at Canopy Pointe, a three-story building with 72 units on about 5 acres, recently celebrated breaking ground on the project along with local officials (pictured below). The property was annexed into the city of Wilmington, which also provided some gap financing, in 2021.

"There is great demand for senior housing in the Cape Fear region," said Christopher Eisenzimmer, president of Residence at Canopy Pointe development firm Blue Ridge Atlantic Development, in an email. "While our project will be a step in the right direction the current demand in the Cape Fear region outpaces the supply and even the supply in the pipeline. We are just happy to be able to put 72 units on the ground to assist with the demand."

He said the project is expected to welcome new residents in January 2024, and interest is already high.

"Due to the lack of supply for senior independent housing in the area we have been receiving an abundance of inquiries. Potential residents have been reaching out to us, the county/city, and our design team to find out how to get on the waiting list," the email stated. "We have even had prospective residents stop by our office to make sure they are on the waiting list. Now that we have property management engaged we have been directing all inquiries to them to get on the wait list for move-ins."

The Middle Sound Loop Road area appealed to the developers for several reasons, Eisenzimmer said.

"The area is a rapidly growing heavily amenitized place within our community. We wanted our active senior residents to have access to the same amenities we all enjoy (shopping, healthcare, groceries, parks, etc)," he said. "This location fundamentally checks all of those boxes. The Cape Fear region currently has a large deficit of attainable housing. More specifically, the need for affordable senior housing in our region has never been greater."

According to Eisenzimmer, the Residence at Canopy Pointe "will be the first amenity-heavy, mixed-income affordable senior community to be constructed in Wilmington for quite some time. This project will include a fitness center, business center, resident lounge, activity room, on-site laundry, outdoor amenity areas and community gardening area."