A growing tech company is moving from Lumina Commons to a bigger office in midtown Wilmington.

Wide Open Technologies signed a lease for nearly 3,000 square feet of space, Suite B4 at 1409 Audubon Blvd., with plans to move to the new office location by the end of the year, said John Cornelius, the owner and one of the founders of the company.

“It just gives us a little more flexibility with trying to expand some. We’re not out of space here right now, but we’re probably two or three hires away from needing more,” Cornelius said, who added that his firm was also nearing the end of its lease at Lumina Commons, 1994 Eastwood Road, when company officials decided to find something new.

Founded in Charlotte as “a side consulting shop,” Wide Open Technologies turned into a full-time business about six years ago, he said.

Explaining his firm’s areas of expertise, Cornelius said, “We work for small- and medium-size businesses usually and we build web applications, custom software, e-commerce systems and back-office integrations.”

So, for one example, he said, if a company has three different systems doing accounting and related tasks, Wide Open Technologies might build some custom software “to put the glue in place so that everything runs more smoothly,” Cornelius said.

Among the company’s clients are America’s Mattress, 101 Mobility and Superior Medical Equipment.

When Wide Open moved to Wilmington, the company's first office in the Port City was located downtown. The company moved to the Lumina Commons location about three years ago, Cornelius said.

Along with being an open space that can accommodate a modern layout, Wide Open's new location is nearly twice as big as the company's current address. 

Including those who work in the firm’s Asheville office, Wide Open Technologies has about 12 employees. The company’s new Wilmington office location will be closer for many of those who live in the Port City, Cornelius said.

“It was a really good space and the location was a little more convenient for a fair number of our employees,” he said. “It’s kind of nice because it’s central, kind of in the middle of everything.”

Eastern Carolinas Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord in the lease, while Bryce Morrison of Cape Fear Commercial represented Wide Open Technologies.