My six degrees of Kevin Bacon? Glad you asked (at least for the purposes of this letter).

Kevin Bacon directed and starred in Loverboy, which starred Sandra Bullock, who was the main character in 28 Days that filmed in Black Mountain with my buddy working on set in lighting.

Boom – Bacon’s Law in three steps.

To be fair, if it wasn’t for our close family friend who has worked with the film industry for decades, my Kevin Bacon success rate would be much worse.

But this idea of connectedness – whether or not you believe the theory that everyone in the world is separated by six or fewer people – is an interesting one.

If you’re in business, you already know about the importance of forging connections and cultivating relationships. Even if you’re not in business, you know no one is an island, and connections are what help keep us sane or, in the case of the Blue Zones outlook, living longer.

For this year’s Commercial Real Estate issue, connectivity runs through the stories.

Our cover story subject is Lannin Braddock, co-founder of real estate company The Braddock Group. Part of her work includes working with developer clients outside the market and connecting them with area names. (Find out more about that as well as her other local projects here.)

Here, you can read about a physical connector – the 1.75-mile-long Riverwalk that runs a thread along downtown Wilmington’s waterfront. In “Cutting a Path,” we look at the project’s history as a tool to reposition downtown as a tourist destination in the 1980s to its potential future of spreading out even farther.

In “New Places to Play”, we look at the trend of recent commercial developments built solely to get people out and about together. From indoor pickleball to Dave & Buster’s, sizeable spaces are being built to address the market of socialization.

And in a very literal who knows whom, turn to the Residential Real Estate section where we ask members of this year’s WilmingtonBiz 100 their recommendations for people who readers should know about.

While you’re here be sure to connect with us online, over email or actually in person – the annual Coastal Entrepreneur Awards are May 21. I’ll be there if you want to connect, and we can find the best Bacon’s Law of the night. Bring Kevin, and you’ll automatically win.
 
Vicky Janowski, Editor
[email protected]