The developers behind the six Offices at Mayfaire buildings and Bradley Creek Station in Wilmington are bringing a 77,000-square-foot building to northern Brunswick County.
Wilmington-based SAMM Properties is in the design phase of planning a class A office and retail development. The Offices & Shoppes at Waterford will be located on Olde Regent Way adjacent to Waterford Village, a Harris Teeter-anchored shopping center.
“With the significant increase in residential density levels, we believe a class A office development for business owners to lease and/or purchase their next location will be well-received in the community,” said Steve Hall, partner in Wilmington-based commercial real estate firm Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co. “This site offers convenient access for those who live in Brunswick County to go to work, visit medical professionals and financial advisors while not having to participate in long commutes to the neighboring counties.”
Hall represents SAMM Properties, which includes developers Steve Anderson and his son, Parker Anderson.
The Andersons developed Bradley Creek Station, an 80,000-square-foot office and retail complex at 5815 Oleander Drive that was fully sold out and leased by June.
“This year, we leased or put under contract the balance of Bradley Creek Station and did it in a very short amount of time,” Steve Anderson said Thursday.
Even after the three-story building was full with tenants and owners, he said, SAMM Properties fielded enough calls from people interested in the space to have filled a fourth floor.
“We have been so careful over our 20-year office development career to not be spec builders. We really let the market come to us and dictate what the needs are and that’s just been a SAMM Properties internal guide for our growth – to let the market tell us what it’s wanting, what it’s needing,” Steve Anderson said. “We never got over our skis and don’t plan to certainly in any one market.”
The Offices & Shoppes at Waterford development was under technical review by the town of Leland as of Thursday. Brandon Lisk of general contractor McKinley Building Corp. is the project manager. Phil Tripp of Tripp Engineering and Mark Loudermilk of Mark Loudermilk Architecture are also part of the development team.
“COVID-19 has generated a new demand for outdoor spaces where people can continue with their lives in fresh air environments,” Loudermilk said in an email. “As we approached the design of this project, we intentionally created an outdoor ‘lobby,’ more of a plaza, which connects pedestrians to the smaller elevator vestibules of each building. Tenants and their visitors are invited into the buildings through this outdoor space. It will also serve as a place for outdoor seating serving future fine dining tenants.
“The architecture and material choices reflect a contemporary approach to building design which has proven to attract both local business owners and national office tenants, as well as creative class entrepreneurs opening shops in select retail ground floors.”
Construction could begin as early as the first quarter of next year, the developers said. SAMM Properties has the 4.9-acre development site, owned by Branch Waterford Associates Phase II, under contract. The sellers are represented by Andy Mitwol and Mike Prince.
Gary Vidmar, economic and community development director for the town of Leland, said in an email of the upcoming office building, “We can envision office users that will offer services and professional job opportunities that do not presently exist in the town along with a distinctive group of locally owned select retail businesses to include fine dining.”
While larger office buildings might be struggling or being repurposed as employees continue to work remotely, boutique class A office development remains in demand, Steve Anderson said.
To that end, his team is also developing a 37,000-square-foot office building at 3109 Slater Road in Morrisville, near Raleigh. SAMM Properties created the six Offices at Mayfaire buildings behind Mayfaire Community Center in Wilmington from 2011 to 2019.
“We are reaching out and looking at other markets right now,” Steve Anderson said, adding that those markets include Charleston, South Carolina.
“Working with SAMM Properties was so easy. They anticipated what I needed before I even thought of it. I never had to ask any questions about the process. Everything was explained in detail all along the way. I would recommend them to anyone looking to lease or purchase space for their business.”
“After renting my office space for 20 years we purchased our medical office space from SAMM Properties four years ago. Best business decision I've ever made! SAMM is easy to work with and they over deliver. I highly recommend them.”
“Steve Anderson is a quality person, who builds a quality product, and makes the entire process a quality experience. He knows what owners want and need in a commercial property. I have purchased two units in Howe Creek Landing and have been delighted.”
“We worked with Steve Anderson on the lease of our office space in Mayfaire. We were thrilled with the final outcome and look, all beyond our expectation. What we appreciate most was his communication, attention to detail, and delivery of expected results and then some within the expected time frame.”
“My wife and I were leasing space for our retail store here in Wilmington and Steve approached us about purchasing space in Phase II of Anderson Square. Since we had always wanted to own our store space, we actively pursued purchasing a location in Anderson Square. I had known Steve for a number of years but had never had a business relationship with him. I was not surprised at all to find that it was an absolute pleasure to deal with him as our new location was being built. He was always available to help in any way he could to be a problem solver during the construction. I had been expecting a lot of hassles during the build as the gremlins seem to thrive around construction sites, but my experience was the opposite. If I needed help or advice, Steve was right there smoothing the way.
We opened our new location in 2004 and I worked closely with Steve until he sold his interest in Anderson Square in 2016. During those years, I found him to be very concerned about the welfare of all the store owners in the center and was constantly picking up trash, hanging Christmas decorations or driving through to check on any parking problems. Steve is the type of developer that remains involved in his projects long after they are completed. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking to own or lease a portion of any project he is building.”