Office, retail and industrial space are in demand across the Wilmington market, according to local brokers. New construction in the industrial market includes flex spaces that range in size from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of square feet. Meanwhile, the retail and office markets are evolving as they grow into new submarkets to meet the demand that stems, in part, from ongoing residential growth.
1. Industrial Focus
A handful of small- and mid-sized industrial projects have started taking shape as developers aim to meet market demand. Cal Morgan, owner of commercial real estate appraisal firm JC Morgan Co., said he sees a limited supply of small flex units in the market, with properties selling or leasing quickly once they come online.
Several projects have popped up in northern New Hanover County. The developers of Wrightsboro Business Park, which broke ground in late 2025, plan to construct 17 buildings with 5,100 square feet each, hitting a "sweet spot" for the market, according to Will Leonard, senior vice president with Cape Fear Commercial. Nearby, Maritime West Business Park is set to hold 19 buildings ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet, while Wilmington Industrial Park is planning nine roughly 20,000-square-foot buildings. In Leland, Canvasback Capital purchased land in Leland Innovation Park for two buildings, which developers plan to divide into small bay warehouse or flex spaces.
2. Retail Changeover
As of the first quarter of 2026, the retail vacancy rate in the Wilmington market was 1.4%, according to CoStar. That's lower than the five-year average of 1.8% and the 10-year average of 2.2%.
Keith Austin, a senior vice president with Cape Fear Commercial, said the region's strong population growth and tourism factor into the retail demand. The area's retail centers continued to evolve in 2025, said John Gavin, an associate broker with Cameron Management, with new owners and national brands. In August, for example, Florida-based 4th Dimension Properties acquired Independence Mall in a more than $50 million deal, while new national chains continued their push into Wilmington retail centers. At Hanover Center, a build-out was ongoing as of press time for national retailer Boot Barn, while a Target was nearing completion at The Village at Myrtle Grove. At Mayfaire Town Center, adult arcade Dave & Buster's opened its doors in 2025.
3. Office Demand
Office space remains in high demand across the Wilmington region, especially small-scale spaces and medical offices, according to Austin. Companies began downsizing their offices during the COVID-19 pandemic's work-from-home era, and the trend stuck, Austin said. As some employees continue to work from home or in a hybrid environment, there's increased demand for smaller office spaces.
While there have been some large-scale office leases signed in the last year, such as engineering firm McKim & Creed's more than 22,000-square-foot lease in Skyline Center, Gavin said many of the office leases in the market range between 2,500 and 5,000 square feet. Gavin also sees demand for more Class A office space.
There's also high demand for medical offices, according to Austin. Demand is so high that some medical users have considered converting traditional office space or even former retail space into medical offices.
4. Submarket Sprawl
As the Wilmington area grows, some commercial products are expanding outside of the areas where they've traditionally been concentrated. Many of Wilmington's medical offices, for example, are located along South 16th and 17th streets, near Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Austin said he's seeing demand for medical office space in the Mayfaire submarket along Military Cutoff Road and Ogden and Porters Neck.
Gavin said he sees midtown Wilmington as an emerging submarket, with various ongoing or recently completed commercial projects. That includes Novant's conversion of a former Verizon Wireless call center into an outpatient clinic and the completion of The Offices at Iron Gate. The northern parts of New Hanover County are also seeing an uptick in retail leasing, as residential development increases in the area. One of the last remaining undeveloped areas in New Hanover County, the area has also been ripe for new industrial projects.
5. Space on the Way
A handful of large-scale projects promise to bring new square footage to the market. In the Mayfaire area, the mixed-use project Center Point is slated to bring 33,000 square feet of retail space to the corner of Military Cutoff and Eastwood roads. Openings for the retail tenants, which will include a curated mix of boutique retail, dining and lifestyle offerings, are expected for winter 2026 through early 2027. Also on Military Cutoff, The Avenue is set to bring a new hotel and thousands of square feet of retail space.
Several large-scale industrial projects are also in the works. At Wilmington Trade Center, a master-planned industrial park off U.S. 421, crews recently wrapped up work on one 153,000-square-foot building while also breaking ground on another. In Navassa, Samet Corp. recently broke ground on a 160,000-square-foot industrial building that's slated for completion later this year.
