Major expansion planned for Wilmington business park in busy industrial area
With an additional land purchase from Edgewater Ventures, a Wilmington business park will undergo a major expansion.
The company has acquired 187 acres next to its existing Wilmington Trade Center property, which will expand the center to 212 acres, according to a news release.
Edgewater Ventures plans to provide up to 3.3 million square feet of industrial facilities.
The park will be able to “accommodate industrial users up to 1,000,000 square feet,” the release said.
So far, Edgewater has developed two buildings totaling 315,000 square feet along the 25-acre parcel of land they purchased in 2021. These buildings are currently 85% leased. Tenants include PaperFoam, Coastal Carrier, GLE and New Hanover County Emergency Services. Another 100,000 square feet will be added when Edgewater breaks ground on a third building in 2024.
More: With new businesses moving in, US 421 corridor poised for more economic development
The added acreage will allow the developer to offer bigger facilities to large-scale distribution users that want to take advantage of the nearby Port of Wilmington, the news release said. The developer has site-planned facilities as large as 1 million square feet with 40-foot clear heights.
The park is located on U.S. 421 near the interchange at Interstate 140, providing access to Interstate 40, Interstate 74 and U.S. 17. It’s also positioned 4.2 miles from downtown and 6.7 miles from Wilmington International Airport.
“I’ve worked on similar parks in larger Southeast markets for my entire career,” said Chris Norvell, the lead industrial partner at Edgewater Ventures. “But as a Wilmington resident, it’s exciting to bring a park of this scale to the region which will provide great opportunities for job growth and economic development in my hometown.”
Edgewater plans to continue its partnership with local general contractor McKinley Building Corp. to handle construction.
“Partnerships like this happen when old and new visions come together to create ideas for development that can raise the bar for our community,” said Ken Dull with McKinley Building. “We enjoy working with Chris and his team. He and I both believe that this will make the Wilmington area a better place for jobs and quality of life.”
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington Trade Center is expanding with Edgewater Ventures investment
