WILMINGTON — A property owner is assessing development options for a 38,000-square-foot shopping center in midtown to potentially become a mixed-use development with housing and commercial offerings.
READ MORE: Rezonings proposed to bring 68 units to the city through infill development
The City of Wilmington has received plans to demolish the North 17th Shopping Center at 4302 Market St. and replace it with a five-story building with four floors of housing units and the bottom floor reserved for retail.
However, Annamaria Lookman — CEO of Quantum Real Estate LLC, listed as the property owner according to property tax records — told Port City Daily on Friday the plans are not set in stone.
“We are continuing to evaluate all aspects of the project and renovation options and could decide to pull the project either before or after the [Technical Review Committee] meeting,” Lookman wrote in an email. “Various factors are being considered in our decision-making process, and we remain committed to a thoughtful and informed approach.
Lookman submitted the redevelopment application to the City of Wilmington on Feb. 5. A formal TRC review meeting is scheduled for March 13, according to city spokesperson Lauren Edwards. The goal is to transform the site into 53 apartments accompanied by more than 12,000 square feet of retail space.
Currently, the 1.6 acres consists of a shopping center, once home to Elizabeth’s Pizza — a beloved restaurant that closed for repair in 2023 and hasn’t reopened. Both the restaurant and plaza are owned by the Lookman family. Shameer Lookman was the face of the local eatery, which opened in town in 1987.
County property records show the shopping center building dates back to 1954.
In addition to Elizabeth’s it has been home to several businesses, currently including Asian Life Market, Plaza on Market, USA Nails, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, Up Town Clothing, Carniceria Jalisco, Yury’s Hair Salon, Club Lupita, Tienda Mexicana, CSL Plasma, Crazy Deals Outlet Bin Store, and Beauty World. The Family Dollar housed there closed and has yet to be replaced with a new tenant.
As first reported by StarNews, Shameer Lookman announced the temporary closure of Elizabeth’s Pizza in January 2023 due to storm damage and an ongoing insurance claim to get repairs made after Hurricane Florence. A year later, Lookman’s lawyer, Michael Davenport, told PCD the restaurant would reopen but when remained unclear.
“I can confirm that Elizabeth’s Pizza will absolutely be reopening. Its owner (Shameer Lookman) is, however, unable to forecast a definitive timeline for renovation of its facility. Suffice it to say that the rebuild process — in the aftermath of a hurricane now five years gone — will be a complex one,” he wrote.
PCD asked Annamaria if the business owners in the shopping center have been notified of any redevelopment plans; no clear answer was given.
“We are actively conveying definitive plans to tenants as decisions are made and will continue to engage stakeholders accordingly,” she said.
At first, Lookman told PCD the developers “do not anticipate proceeding with the proposed development at this stage.” When PCD asked if that meant they were pulling their TRC application, Lookman then said they have not made any final decisions.
Edwards told PCD Friday the planning department has not received notice to pull the application.
“As far as our planning department knows, the project is moving forward,” she said.
The project’s real estate agent Charles Cazier could not confirm timeframes or schedules of when the new development would come to construction.
According to Edwards, the parcel will not need to undergo a rezoning once it completes the TRC process because the proposed development will qualify as a commercial district mixed-use within the regional business district.
Under this allowance, density is restricted to 17 units per acre unless, although this density cap is removed if 10% of units are dedicated to workforce housing.
The site plan notes 53 units will be added to the 1.6-acre parcel — 25 one-bedroom, 26 two-bedroom and two three-bedrooms units. The building is set to be 67 feet high, 77,730 square feet in total.
The site plan indicates another 12,850 square feet will be available for retail, set to the left side of the building when a person enters the development from Market Street. Parking comes to 217 spaces needed, 79 for the retail and 138 for the housing. 204 spaces currently exist onsite.
As is, plans show parking will remain fronting Market Street, with some also in the rear. Parking will separate the development from the building to remain behind the shopping center, which housed Mattress Furniture Liquidators. A 15-foot setback will be planted with vegetation to separate the new five-story building from the mattress business.
Trip generation estimates on the site plan indicate the proposed redevelopment will reduce the amount of vehicle trips the site welcomes. Currently, it’s estimated to have 2,081 daily trips, while the mixed-use building, which would offer less commercial space than what’s currently there, would only generate around 1,027 trips.
Impervious area on the site will decrease as a result of the redevelopment, going from 69,558 square feet to 57,070 square feet. The open space requirement is 20%, or in this case 13,922 square feet; however, the developers have not planned for any open space in the site plan and will be requesting a design adjustment, as noted in their application.
The site plan also indicates solid waste will be handled by a private hauler, not Cape Fear Public Utility Authority.
This corner of Kerr Avenue and Market Street is seeing potential redevelopment nearby already, as another project was submitted to replace the AMC Cinema that closed on Cinema Drive in 2023. It runs behind the North 17th Shopping Center property, with RMR Group and local firm Paramounte Engineering proposing plans to build eight apartment buildings on more than 8.5 acres, with the ground floor of building one comprising office and retail space. That project is planned to become student housing, according to previous PCD reporting.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.
