New industrial facility to be built near Port of Wilmington

A 300,000-square-foot warehousing and logistics facility will be constructed on Wilmington port property by Florida-based company Chesterfield, the port confirmed.    Florida-based industrial and office developer Chesterfield will construct a 300,000-square-foot industrial facility near the Port of Wilmington, the North Carolina port confirmed in a tweet.
   The facility will be built on 23 acres located on port property and could be developed into a single-user or multi-tenant property. An additional 11-acre site adjacent to the port property will allow for future expansion and preliminary plans for a 100,000-square-foot warehouse space. 
   According to a report from local media outlet Wilmington Biz, the project is expected to be developed in late 2018, but a definitive date for breaking ground on the project has not yet been set.
   “We are marketing the building for tenants that will use the Port of Wilmington. And until we have a tenant, we will continue to market the building as a speculative building,” Chance Raehn, vice president of development at Chesterfield, told the newspaper.
   “Based on the leadership at the Ports Authority, their operations and recent infrastructure improvement at the port and recent shipping line announcements, we feel that the Port of Wilmington is poised for unprecedented growth. Our intent for this facility is to support port-related operations,” said Raehn.
   Project negotiations have been ongoing for about 10 months, said Raehn. Chesterfield was recruited by North Carolina’s Southeast Regional Economic Development Partnership and the N.C. State Ports Authority to explore industrial opportunities in the Cape Fear region.
   “Chesterfield is extremely excited about this opportunity. And we are excited to work with the North Carolina State Ports Authority,” said Raehn. “Chesterfield appreciates our partnership with the North Carolina State Ports Authority and we look forward to supporting the growth of the Port of Wilmington and the Cape Fear Region.”