A look at Wilmington’s economic development trends in 2025 shows companies selecting the region for their first U.S. facilities and progress on projects at the Port of Wilmington. Investment continues at Wilmington International Airport's business park. Local groups are pushing for new recreational facilities and industry leaders are advocating for workforce development.
U.S. Footprints
Companies are choosing the Cape Fear region to establish a footprint in the U.S.
Building product manufacturer US MgO announced plans earlier this year to build a production facility in Leland. The company is expected to invest $5 million. Until the Brunswick County facility comes online, the company is making its magnesium oxide sheathing panels at its first U.S. plant in Wilmington.
One Banana North America, a company that grows and ripens bananas and plantains, opened its first U.S. facility in Pender Commerce Park in June to support its growing American market.
Canadian firm Protocase and its subsidiary 45Drives launched a local production facility this year for its data storage and computer servers. The company selected Wilmington for its first expansion outside of Canada last year.
The recent growth follows other first-time U.S. investment for several firms, including plans from India-based graphite manufacturer Epsilon Advanced Materials for a 1.5-million-square-foot facility in Brunswick County and a growing local footprint for Kesseböhmer, a German metal processor.
Port Progress
Amid recent uncertainty around tariffs, the Port of Wilmington is moving ahead with several projects that are expected to increase its capacity for years to come.
The port’s $22.5 million intermodal rail yard project broke ground last fall and is on track for completion in 2026. It will add four new working tracks to the port’s container terminal, with a combined length of 5,000 feet.
The project could expand the port’s intermodal capacity to more than 50,000 container movements by rail annually. It is currently capped at approximately 14,000 intermodal rail movements annually.
In recent years, Wilmington’s port has witnessed record intermodal rail volumes due to new and expanding programs that use express rail products such as the Queen City Express.
Work on a new north gate for the port’s general cargo facility is also underway. Relocating the gate to South Front Street aims to divert traffic away from nearby neighborhoods, reduce truck delays and traffic near railroad crossings and bring the entrance closer to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
Airport Businesses
Wilmington International Airport is set to become a growing hub of economic activity.
Frontier Scientific Solutions, a temperature-controlled storage and transportation company that serves the life sciences industry, announced plans last fall for a 500,000-square-foot pharmaceutical warehouse inside ILM’s business park.
Frontier Scientific operates a direct flight that carries pharmaceutical shipments between ILM and a companion warehouse at Shannon Airport in County Clare, Ireland.
The local facility, which is under construction alongside the airport’s runway, will allow for more efficient product transfers from plane to warehouse. It’s the first of a multi-phase development that the company has planned for ILM’s business park. Once complete, company officials have said the facilities could create hundreds of jobs.
The airport itself has had a significant economic impact on the Wilmington area. According to the State of Aviation report from the N.C. Department of Transportation, ILM generated an estimated $3.3 billion in economic impact in 2023, the most recent year with complete data available.
Recreation Investment
Amid a slate of recreation facility proposals, the New Hanover Community Endowment wants to study recreation needs and access in New Hanover County.
This summer, the $1.6 billion endowment, created in 2021 from the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health, issued a request for proposals for a comprehensive assessment of the area’s recreational facilities and programs.
Several proposed large-scale recreational facilities, including Olsen Farm Recreation Village and Optimism Oasis, are in the development stages in New Hanover County.
Olsen Farm Recreation Village, slated for 135 acres in Murrayville, would include the Wilmington Aquatic Center and ACCESS Inclusive Recreation Center. It would have indoor and outdoor Olympic-sized pools, along with trails, green spaces and gathering areas.
Optimism Oasis is a proposed athletic and cultural center on Wilmington’s Northside. Conceptual plans for the project include a track, gym, swimming sportsplex and a cultural arts center and museum.
Workforce Development
Partnerships between local institutions and industry leaders are putting a focus on workforce training.
The New Hanover Healthcare Career Partnership is a joint effort between the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Cape Fear Community College, New Hanover County Schools and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce Foundation to recruit, train and retain health care workers in the Cape Fear region.
The multi-faceted program helps provide students with financial support, mentorship and wraparound services like free child care. It’s also helped to develop exploratory classes and health science academies for middle- and high-school students.
Other local industry-focused groups such as the Tech Talent Collaborate and the Cape Fear Manufacturing Partnership have formed in recent years. The groups, which meet regularly, aim to bring together companies and leaders within each local industry to address needs for workforce training, among other issues.
