Wilmington's Soda Pop District is thriving. Here's a look at what's ahead.
Don’t let the old buildings that greet you as you enter downtown’s Soda Pop District fool you. The neighborhood’s redevelopment is gaining traction as it welcomes more and more businesses.
The district's history
While it was once informally known as the Soda Pop district, the neighborhood is becoming a more formal establishment within the city of Wilmington each day. The area bordered by Dock, Chestnut, Eighth and 12th streets, is well known for its 1930s Coca-Cola bottling factory — hence the name -- as well as its recent resurgence within the community.
According to real-estate professionals, for many years, it seemed as though the area would remain a dwindling neighborhood.
The area didn’t see a ton of new business potential until 2013 when the land was rezoned to allow mixed-use properties.
According to city documents, Osprey Lands, LLC wanted to put a grocery store at the former Coca-Cola site in 2016, but plans eventually fell through.
The district today
Today, new businesses in the Soda Pop District continue to emerge, though not all have survived during the area's growth. Both Soda Pop businesses, the Full Belly Project and Parchies Barbecue, found themselves closing up shop.
Dave Wishon, owner of Parchies Barbecue, sold his restaurant of over 37 years to Soda Pop Center, LLC, managed by Seacoast System's Jonathan Summit.
Cierra Washington, project manager of Northside Food Cooperative, described the redevelopment in the area as "a really interesting situation."
"I think any time that gentrification happens there are a lot of new people that are coming into the Northside," she said. "Some are enjoying the new businesses, but also, you see some residents who aren't necessarily taking part in some of the development that's happening."
Current occupants of the neighborhood include Folks Café, Retroscape, Cape Fear Boxing, Hi-Wire Brewing, Craftspace, Pomona Shrub Company and Jengo’s Playhouse.
A common thread among a few of the above listed businesses are the friends behind Parastream Developers.
The two partners, Andy Hewitt and Sandy Thorpe are taking over the area with a mission to redevelop. Together they’ve purchased over seven acres of land in the district with the intent to reuse existing buildings for residential, retail and manufacturing purposes.
“Since completing construction on what we call ‘phase one,’ we have welcomed 16 businesses to the neighborhood,” said Sandy Thorpe.
Not only are the partners responsible for the transformation of the neighborhood’s former Coca-Cola building, now Bottle Works, but they are also responsible for the building that houses Hi-Wire Brewing and Cugino Forno, as well as Bowstring Brewyard.
"I know that Parastream Development is interested in understanding what roles they can play as new neighbors coming in. They've been really supportive in helping out with our initiative," Washington said.
What’s next?
Plans have yet to stop for Thorpe and Hewitt.
Thorpe said that Ibis Coffee and Cocktails and Compass Creamery, both of which are located in Bottle Works, are expected to open in the coming months.
They also have warehouse space that will soon become available on the site.
“On the warehouse side, we’re looking to create some smaller units, providing spaces between 1,000 square feet and 10,000 square feet,” Thorpe said. “It will allow us to work with some of the smaller users that have a tough time finding storage or makers space within the downtown area.”
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: What's happening in Wilmington's Soda Pop District?
