Inflation has not kept the business world from turning, and that means ongoing commercial real estate development. Gas stations with followings bordering on the fanatical are moving into the Wilmington area, as are retailers that haven’t established storefronts here before. As another sign of growth, industrial space and medical facilities keep coming, and businesses are looking beyond the boundaries of the city to reach more customers.
 
Fueling Growth
 
New gas station chains are on the way to the Wilmington area.
 
One example: Pennsylvania-based Sheetz submitted plans to the city of Wilmington in February for a planned store and gas station.  
 
Proposed at 2435 Independence Blvd., the location would take the place on the corner of Independence and Shipyard boulevards where Barr Evergreens had long sold its pumpkins and Christmas trees on a seasonal basis. 
 
Plans call for a 6,100-square-foot store and a fuel canopy. 
 
“Although it is too early to share details around when this store will open, Sheetz can confirm that we are in the planning stages for a store location along Independence Boulevard,” Nick Ruffner, public relations manager for Sheetz, said in a statement Feb. 27. 
 
Sheetz has 15 locations in North Carolina, according to a store locator, with the nearest locations being outside Raleigh.
 
Retail Roundup
 
It’s the same story this year as last year for the retail and restaurant market in Wilmington: Some stores and eateries are gone while others are on the way and planning new buildings.
 
The stores include national chains. The largest new tenant at midtown Wilmington shopping complex Hanover Center blocks will be Homesense, coming to 24,000 square feet in the former home of Stein Mart at 3501 Oleander Drive, which closed in 2020 after the clothing retailer declared bankruptcy.
 
More new tenants in recent months have cropped up at Hanover Center, which was built in the 1950s and is currently anchored by Harris Teeter, Hobby Lobby, Office Depot and Books-A-Million. 
 
Randy Kelley, of Wrightsville Beach-based Harbour Real Estate Partners, one of the owners of Hanover Center in a joint venture with ShopCore, said late last year, “Retailers love leasing in shopping centers that have history and great co-tenancy.”
 
Reaching Out
 
More businesses are establishing a presence in areas just outside Wilmington. 
 
In late 2022, developers met with neighbors to share information on a proposed Tractor Supply Co. store at 3400 Castle Hayne Road in New Hanover County. 
 
Plans call for a 22,000-square-foot building, a 4,000-square-foot garden center and a 14,000-square-foot fenced outdoor display area. Already, Tractor Supply operates stores in Hampstead, Shallotte and Rocky Point.
 
Construction on a Lowe’s Home Improvement location in the Brunswick County town of Leland, off U.S. 17, began last year. The store anchors Leland Town Center, which also counts among its tenants Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Firehouse Subs and AT&T.
 
Another shopping center, Shoppes at Savannah Branch, is planned on a site across the U.S. 17 from Brunswick Forest, with about 142,000 square feet of building space proposed that could include a Publix grocery store.
 
Industrial in Demand
 
Despite Amazon pulling back on establishing certain space in the Cape Fear region and elsewhere, the need for industrial development continues this year.
 
Aiming to capitalize on that demand, Samet Corp.’s Wilmington office is building a 200,000-square-foot building in the Brunswick County town of Navassa, for one example.
 
Site work started earlier this year on the property at the intersection of Cedar Hill Road and Interstate 140. Samet Corp. officials estimate the building will be finished in the fall. 
 
Adam Cardin, project development manager for Samet Corp., said the Greensboro-based company “loves to have space available in this market because the southeastern region, it’s just hot. And throughout that territory, economic developers always say they need product coming out of the ground.”
 
In a couple more examples, other developers have industrial space in the works at Wilmington International Airport and on U.S. 421, among other sites in the area.
 
Space for What Ails You
 
With community growth comes the need for more health care providers and facilities.
 
In January, Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its 108-bed Novant Health Neurosciences Institute. 
 
One recent example is the purchase by Wilmington Surgical Associates of a site in midtown Wilmington, 2739 Iron Gate Drive, where the private general surgery practice will build a new facility.
 
Carolyn Medley, the practice’s development director, said Wilmington Surgical Associates needed room to grow.
 
“It’s bittersweet leaving our spot here on Medical Center Drive because we’ve been here for so long (since 1972), but we’ve renovated this property until we can’t get another inch out of it,” she said. “It was time to find a new home where we can expand and put everything in it that we need.”