A new report concludes these are boom times for the Wilmington area when it comes to job growth.
The non profit Milkin Institute in Los Angeles, ranks Wilmington second in the nation when it comes to additions to the workforce. A 2005 survey by the same group had Wilmington ranked 59th. General Electric and Invista are among the local companies adding new workers.
See the report here
John Hinnant of Wilmington Downtown Inc. Also gives credit to the city's historic charm and the growth of businesses in the downtown area, including PPD. Hinnant says investors and developers are starting to take notice of the city's potential. "They see us on the verge of great growth. We've had a lot of interest from outside developers and investors looking to come to Wilmington and start projects because they know the quality of life is strong here. They know we are a magnet for corporations looking to establish offices in this area, and build their work force," explained Hinnant.
December's Money Magazine also has a pat on the back for Wilmington's economy, stating the housing market here is, to use their word, sizzling.
Search Wilmington Employment listings here.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
New HBO series will film in Port City
'Little Britain' adaptation starts filming this month
By Amy HotzStaff Writeramy.hotz@starnewsonline.com
Craft services will have to stock up on their supply of tea. HBO confirmed Thursday that the "untitled Little Britain" project will open offices at EUE/Screen Gems Studios on Monday.
An American version of the bawdy British sketch comedy series was scheduled to film here last fall. But Matt Lucas, one of the show's writers and stars, told BBC Radio the show was put on hold because of the recent Hollywood writers strike.
Now that the strike is over, six episodes of the series will start production here this month.
The U.S. version will be produced by Simon Fuller, best known for producing American Idol and the U.K.'s Pop Idol. He was not a producer on the U.K. series.
Lucas and his business partner David Walliams will write, produce and star in the American series. The comedy duo earned a cult following in the original version, known for men in women's dresses and eccentric Monty Python-esque humor. What started as a radio show became a TV series in the U.K. that ran from 2003 to 2006.
According to the BBC, the series filming here will also be a sketch show, this time set in contemporary America, that will include new and existing Little Britain characters. Wilmington Regional Film Commissioner Johnny Griffin said the project will probably employ more than 75 people, most of whom will be locals.
The experienced crew base and our film infrastructure is one of many reasons HBO decided to bring the series here, he said.
"They also wanted a generic look to it that could play different parts of the country," Griffin said. Wilmington's varied landscape and architecture has doubled recently for New York in the locally filmed CW series One Tree Hill and for a South American jungle in the Richard Gere feature Nights in Rodanthe.
HBO was already familiar with the area, having shot the feature Idlewild here in 2004 and the Will Ferrell-produced pilot East Bound and Down last year.
It was while making that pilot that HBO expressed interest in bringing Little Britain to the region, Griffin said.
East Bound and Down has received a series commitment from the cable channel as well, and it's possible its episodes will shoot here after Little Britain wraps.
Rolling production of one HBO show into another would allow the company to retain certain crew members and probably save money in the long run.
"That's what our hope is," Griffin said. "It's good for us to know, 'OK, something must have worked for them before.'
"The Little Britain announcement comes just weeks after The CW asked One Tree Hill to create six more episodes for its fifth season. And Wilmington's H2O Entertainment, which produces Whittaker Bay, a teen drama that recently switched from WGN TV to the America One station, announced will begin shooting a feature called Redefining Love April 21.
By Amy HotzStaff Writeramy.hotz@starnewsonline.com
Craft services will have to stock up on their supply of tea. HBO confirmed Thursday that the "untitled Little Britain" project will open offices at EUE/Screen Gems Studios on Monday.
An American version of the bawdy British sketch comedy series was scheduled to film here last fall. But Matt Lucas, one of the show's writers and stars, told BBC Radio the show was put on hold because of the recent Hollywood writers strike.
Now that the strike is over, six episodes of the series will start production here this month.
The U.S. version will be produced by Simon Fuller, best known for producing American Idol and the U.K.'s Pop Idol. He was not a producer on the U.K. series.
Lucas and his business partner David Walliams will write, produce and star in the American series. The comedy duo earned a cult following in the original version, known for men in women's dresses and eccentric Monty Python-esque humor. What started as a radio show became a TV series in the U.K. that ran from 2003 to 2006.
According to the BBC, the series filming here will also be a sketch show, this time set in contemporary America, that will include new and existing Little Britain characters. Wilmington Regional Film Commissioner Johnny Griffin said the project will probably employ more than 75 people, most of whom will be locals.
The experienced crew base and our film infrastructure is one of many reasons HBO decided to bring the series here, he said.
"They also wanted a generic look to it that could play different parts of the country," Griffin said. Wilmington's varied landscape and architecture has doubled recently for New York in the locally filmed CW series One Tree Hill and for a South American jungle in the Richard Gere feature Nights in Rodanthe.
HBO was already familiar with the area, having shot the feature Idlewild here in 2004 and the Will Ferrell-produced pilot East Bound and Down last year.
It was while making that pilot that HBO expressed interest in bringing Little Britain to the region, Griffin said.
East Bound and Down has received a series commitment from the cable channel as well, and it's possible its episodes will shoot here after Little Britain wraps.
Rolling production of one HBO show into another would allow the company to retain certain crew members and probably save money in the long run.
"That's what our hope is," Griffin said. "It's good for us to know, 'OK, something must have worked for them before.'
"The Little Britain announcement comes just weeks after The CW asked One Tree Hill to create six more episodes for its fifth season. And Wilmington's H2O Entertainment, which produces Whittaker Bay, a teen drama that recently switched from WGN TV to the America One station, announced will begin shooting a feature called Redefining Love April 21.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Encore readers vote Coldwell Banker Sea Coast as Best real estate company
Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty has become the dominant agency in Southeastern North Carolina, now celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Having opened shop on Wrightsville Beach, as Wilmington Sea Coast Properties, in a tiny office now occupied by a surf shop, Tim Milam, president, remembers his daily duties as a new agent included “putting up the flag outside in the parking lot.”
Milam, along with his wife, Vicki, and business partners Jim Clark and Jim Teachey, bought what became Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty from his brother in 1996 when it had one office and about 30 agents.
Since then, the company has grown to more than 300 agents in seven offices in New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick and Onslow counties.
Sales success has followed; Sea Coast Realty selling more properties in the Southeastern North Carolina market for the past eight straight years than any other company, and also recording the highest dollar volume of sales for the past two straight years, and three of the past five. But as Milam is fond of saying, “The numbers are great, but what’s more important is treating people the right way.” That attitude has created what is known among his sales associates and staff as “the Sea Coast Family.”
“We really do look after each other, and our people are very generous in supporting charities and other worthy causes in the communities we serve,” he said. “It makes me proud every day to work with such a caring, giving, and supportive group of people.”
It’s also nice to be recognized by local publications such as encore, Milam said, “because we know your readers voted for us because they’ve had good experiences with our company, and that means so much to all of us.—Chip Pearsall
Milam, along with his wife, Vicki, and business partners Jim Clark and Jim Teachey, bought what became Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty from his brother in 1996 when it had one office and about 30 agents.
Since then, the company has grown to more than 300 agents in seven offices in New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick and Onslow counties.
Sales success has followed; Sea Coast Realty selling more properties in the Southeastern North Carolina market for the past eight straight years than any other company, and also recording the highest dollar volume of sales for the past two straight years, and three of the past five. But as Milam is fond of saying, “The numbers are great, but what’s more important is treating people the right way.” That attitude has created what is known among his sales associates and staff as “the Sea Coast Family.”
“We really do look after each other, and our people are very generous in supporting charities and other worthy causes in the communities we serve,” he said. “It makes me proud every day to work with such a caring, giving, and supportive group of people.”
It’s also nice to be recognized by local publications such as encore, Milam said, “because we know your readers voted for us because they’ve had good experiences with our company, and that means so much to all of us.—Chip Pearsall
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Star News Article On Strong Wilmington Market
Housing market in area stays strong amid crisis
Almost everyone in the U.S. has felt some aspect of the housing and credit crisis - but some have felt it a lot more than others. Homeowners around the Cape Fear region can count themselves lucky, though, because the Wilmington-area housing market has remained relatively strong as sales have plunged across the country and, along with them, prices in some places. Not so here. While median home prices dropped 1.4 percent nationally in 2007, they actually rose here by 3.6 percent, to $211,377, according to data from the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors.North Carolina in general had the seventh highest appreciation in home prices among the states in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, a U.S. agency whose data is considered especially comprehensive and reliable.
Why would the Wilmington area fare so well even as places like Florida, Nevada and California find themselves in a housing tailspin? Many states where prices and sales have suffered the most were either highly speculative resort areas - such as Nevada - or states where the economies have taken a big hit, such as the manufacturing centers of Michigan and Ohio, said Susan Lacy, president of the Wilmington Realtors. “Wilmington is a regional area that offers medical services and shopping, the arts, the university. These are things that are hard to put out of business,” she said. “We have enough diversity in our job market that we should have a lot of economic stabillity in this area.”
Wilmington comes closer to mirroring the national picture in sales, which fell here by 17.6 percent in 2007 while they dropped 12.8 percent nationally. But both numbers follow the go-go days of 2005, and those sales were unsustainable, Lacy and other real estate agents say. While Wilmington-area sales are down 31 percent from 2005 levels, they are up 63.5 percent from 2001. Sales in 2007 were lower than in 2004, but higher than in 2003, Lacy pointed out.
“We’ve gone back to a normal market,” Lacy said, pointing out that average days on the market for homes here rose from 66 in 2006 to 95 days in 2007 - still just five days more than the typical listing agreement. Meanwhile, sellers in 2007 were still getting 97.35 percent, on average, of the list price of their homes, she said. That was down only slightly from 96.59 percent in 2006.
But, if your home is sitting and others are selling, it might have something to do with your price range. “Things are selling in a couple of different price ranges,” Lacy said. “The markets that are $400,000 and less have a quick turnaround,” she said. “The mid-market ($400,000 to $1 million) has a lot of inventory” because “there are not a lot of move-ups because of the media,” Lacy said, referring to news coverage of the real estate markets. “So, it’s a stronger buyers’ market in the $400,000 to $1 million range. “The upper luxury market is not as affected by day-to-day economic isues,” she added.
The Wilmington area figures include new construction homes (the national data do not), and because of rising costs to build and also escalating land prices, newly built homes can cost more than existing ones. “New construction can lift prices, but more typically with existing homes you’re looking at a different buyer profile,” Lacy said. “Typically you’re going to get more home with existing because it is usually at a lesser rate per square foot.”
Understanding the Southeastern North Carolina housing market - or most markets across the country - can be confusing because the data do not follow city or county lines, but rather the areas served by more than one multiple listing service, or MLS.
Almost everyone in the U.S. has felt some aspect of the housing and credit crisis - but some have felt it a lot more than others. Homeowners around the Cape Fear region can count themselves lucky, though, because the Wilmington-area housing market has remained relatively strong as sales have plunged across the country and, along with them, prices in some places. Not so here. While median home prices dropped 1.4 percent nationally in 2007, they actually rose here by 3.6 percent, to $211,377, according to data from the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors.North Carolina in general had the seventh highest appreciation in home prices among the states in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, a U.S. agency whose data is considered especially comprehensive and reliable.
Why would the Wilmington area fare so well even as places like Florida, Nevada and California find themselves in a housing tailspin? Many states where prices and sales have suffered the most were either highly speculative resort areas - such as Nevada - or states where the economies have taken a big hit, such as the manufacturing centers of Michigan and Ohio, said Susan Lacy, president of the Wilmington Realtors. “Wilmington is a regional area that offers medical services and shopping, the arts, the university. These are things that are hard to put out of business,” she said. “We have enough diversity in our job market that we should have a lot of economic stabillity in this area.”
Wilmington comes closer to mirroring the national picture in sales, which fell here by 17.6 percent in 2007 while they dropped 12.8 percent nationally. But both numbers follow the go-go days of 2005, and those sales were unsustainable, Lacy and other real estate agents say. While Wilmington-area sales are down 31 percent from 2005 levels, they are up 63.5 percent from 2001. Sales in 2007 were lower than in 2004, but higher than in 2003, Lacy pointed out.
“We’ve gone back to a normal market,” Lacy said, pointing out that average days on the market for homes here rose from 66 in 2006 to 95 days in 2007 - still just five days more than the typical listing agreement. Meanwhile, sellers in 2007 were still getting 97.35 percent, on average, of the list price of their homes, she said. That was down only slightly from 96.59 percent in 2006.
But, if your home is sitting and others are selling, it might have something to do with your price range. “Things are selling in a couple of different price ranges,” Lacy said. “The markets that are $400,000 and less have a quick turnaround,” she said. “The mid-market ($400,000 to $1 million) has a lot of inventory” because “there are not a lot of move-ups because of the media,” Lacy said, referring to news coverage of the real estate markets. “So, it’s a stronger buyers’ market in the $400,000 to $1 million range. “The upper luxury market is not as affected by day-to-day economic isues,” she added.
The Wilmington area figures include new construction homes (the national data do not), and because of rising costs to build and also escalating land prices, newly built homes can cost more than existing ones. “New construction can lift prices, but more typically with existing homes you’re looking at a different buyer profile,” Lacy said. “Typically you’re going to get more home with existing because it is usually at a lesser rate per square foot.”
Understanding the Southeastern North Carolina housing market - or most markets across the country - can be confusing because the data do not follow city or county lines, but rather the areas served by more than one multiple listing service, or MLS.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Board OKs medical complex
From the Star News
Board OKs medical complex
Development near Pender line could some day include hospital
By Gareth McGrathStaff Writermailto:Writergareth.mcgrath@starnewsonline.com
The New Hanover County Commissioners on Monday unanimously approved plans for a new medical complex, which eventually could include a new hospital, in the northeast portion of the county.But the move wasn't without its critics, with several residents noting the project would add more than 12,000 daily vehicle trips to already congested U.S. 17 and increase potential runoff into some of the county's cleanest waterways.The commissioners, however, said they were confident the developer had done as much as possible to mitigate those concerns.They also said a project that would meet a growing public need was much better than what could potentially go there, since the site eventually would be developed."It could be a whole lot of things less beneficial and with a lot more impacts to the environment," said Commissioner Nancy Pritchett.SENCA Properties, a corporation formed by a group of 105 local doctors, plans to use roughly 50 acres of a 250-acre tract along U.S. 17 near the Pender County line for a New Hanover Regional Medical Center facility and a medical office/retail complex.But residents said the development was too big and too dense for the primarily residential and environmentally sensitive area, which is on the Intracoastal Waterway-side of U.S. 17.Runoff concerns dominated their concerns, with several speakers stating there was little long-term guarantee that the project's stormwater collection system would offer long-term protection to Futch and Foy creeks.The two tidal creeks, areas of which have conservations easements on them, are the cleanest waterways in New Hanover County.But Mike Mallin, a water quality expert with the University of North Carolina Wilmington, has endorsed the series of infiltration systems and wetlands as effectively collecting and treating runoff before it reaches the tidal creeks.Along with stormwater and traffic issues, neighbors also questioned why New Hanover Regional wouldn't build a new medical center on property it already owns less than two miles down Market Street.Beth Steelman, whose family has owned property in the Foy Creek area for two centuries, said the Porters Neck Road area already was a developing medical services, office and retail node.But Jack Barto, chief executive officer of New Hanover Regional, said the Porters Neck parcel was pocketed by wetlands that limited the opportunity to cluster medical offices on any future expansion.He said the hospital would seek to sell that land, and had already received some unsoliticted offers.Barto also said the need for additional medical services was already evident in the fast-growing area, with the hospital probably providing ambulatory services and possibly a standalone emergency room facility before constructing a 60- to 80-bed community hospital in about seven years.Attorney John Wessell also defended the retail component of the project, which several neighbors said wouldn't mesh with the residential character of the area."The idea of retail there is to enhance the ability of people who work there," he said, noting that it wouldn't be a traditional standalone shopping center. "That's all."Due to the site's location in northeastern New Hanover County, the new "Scotts Hill Village" complex would be subject to the moratorium currently in place on Wilmington's troubled Northeast Interceptor sewer line - although the ban on new sewer line connections is expected to be lifted by March 2008.Barto also downplayed any concerns about New Hanover not yet receiving state permission, dubbed a certificate of need, for new hospital beds, stating that the medical center couldn't do so for something it didn't plan to construct for years.Although the five-member board's vote was unanimous, it was 4-0.That's because Commissioner Bobby Greer recused himself, citing his presence on the hospital's Board of Trustees.
Board OKs medical complex
Development near Pender line could some day include hospital
By Gareth McGrathStaff Writermailto:Writergareth.mcgrath@starnewsonline.com
The New Hanover County Commissioners on Monday unanimously approved plans for a new medical complex, which eventually could include a new hospital, in the northeast portion of the county.But the move wasn't without its critics, with several residents noting the project would add more than 12,000 daily vehicle trips to already congested U.S. 17 and increase potential runoff into some of the county's cleanest waterways.The commissioners, however, said they were confident the developer had done as much as possible to mitigate those concerns.They also said a project that would meet a growing public need was much better than what could potentially go there, since the site eventually would be developed."It could be a whole lot of things less beneficial and with a lot more impacts to the environment," said Commissioner Nancy Pritchett.SENCA Properties, a corporation formed by a group of 105 local doctors, plans to use roughly 50 acres of a 250-acre tract along U.S. 17 near the Pender County line for a New Hanover Regional Medical Center facility and a medical office/retail complex.But residents said the development was too big and too dense for the primarily residential and environmentally sensitive area, which is on the Intracoastal Waterway-side of U.S. 17.Runoff concerns dominated their concerns, with several speakers stating there was little long-term guarantee that the project's stormwater collection system would offer long-term protection to Futch and Foy creeks.The two tidal creeks, areas of which have conservations easements on them, are the cleanest waterways in New Hanover County.But Mike Mallin, a water quality expert with the University of North Carolina Wilmington, has endorsed the series of infiltration systems and wetlands as effectively collecting and treating runoff before it reaches the tidal creeks.Along with stormwater and traffic issues, neighbors also questioned why New Hanover Regional wouldn't build a new medical center on property it already owns less than two miles down Market Street.Beth Steelman, whose family has owned property in the Foy Creek area for two centuries, said the Porters Neck Road area already was a developing medical services, office and retail node.But Jack Barto, chief executive officer of New Hanover Regional, said the Porters Neck parcel was pocketed by wetlands that limited the opportunity to cluster medical offices on any future expansion.He said the hospital would seek to sell that land, and had already received some unsoliticted offers.Barto also said the need for additional medical services was already evident in the fast-growing area, with the hospital probably providing ambulatory services and possibly a standalone emergency room facility before constructing a 60- to 80-bed community hospital in about seven years.Attorney John Wessell also defended the retail component of the project, which several neighbors said wouldn't mesh with the residential character of the area."The idea of retail there is to enhance the ability of people who work there," he said, noting that it wouldn't be a traditional standalone shopping center. "That's all."Due to the site's location in northeastern New Hanover County, the new "Scotts Hill Village" complex would be subject to the moratorium currently in place on Wilmington's troubled Northeast Interceptor sewer line - although the ban on new sewer line connections is expected to be lifted by March 2008.Barto also downplayed any concerns about New Hanover not yet receiving state permission, dubbed a certificate of need, for new hospital beds, stating that the medical center couldn't do so for something it didn't plan to construct for years.Although the five-member board's vote was unanimous, it was 4-0.That's because Commissioner Bobby Greer recused himself, citing his presence on the hospital's Board of Trustees.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
North Carolina Holiday Flotilla at Wrightsville Beach
The 2006 North Carolina Holiday Flotilla will be held Friday November 24th and Saturday November 25th. From our humble beginnings twenty-three years ago, the Flotilla has grown to become one of the Top 20 “Must See Events in the Southeast,” attracting an estimated 50,000 people to Wrightsville Beach.
The Flotilla features a weekend of family friendly events that help raise funding for community projects and support local businesses. It includes our signature event - the parade of illuminated ships glimmering on the Intracoastal and a captivating fireworks display - as well as the Day in the Park festival with children’s games, music and holiday gifts, and the Flotilla party for an elegant evening of dining and dancing. Visit www.ncholidayflotilla.org for the schedule of events.
The Flotilla features a weekend of family friendly events that help raise funding for community projects and support local businesses. It includes our signature event - the parade of illuminated ships glimmering on the Intracoastal and a captivating fireworks display - as well as the Day in the Park festival with children’s games, music and holiday gifts, and the Flotilla party for an elegant evening of dining and dancing. Visit www.ncholidayflotilla.org for the schedule of events.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
The Highlands at Castle Bay
The Highlands at Castle Bay is a unique community built around the area’s only true Scottish-links style golf course. Opened in 1999, The Highlands at Castle Bay offers prestigious low-maintenance brick homes with granite countertops, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, and ceramic tile baths, along with lovely views over the golf course and natural areas. The serene setting offers scenic vistas, massive wooden arch-trestles and an abundance of wild birds.
The Highlands at Castle Bay is nestled on acres of rolling hills just north of Wilmington, NC, in the cozy city of Hampstead, NC. The Highlands at Castle Bay is a highlight of Hampstead, NC, real estate and provides excellent value, lifestyle, and amenities very close to the urban hub of Southeastern North Carolina, Wilmington, NC.
Click here to search all Wilmington NC area properties.
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