Upscale offices mark next stage in area growth
By Paul R. Jefferson - Staff Writer, Star News
St. James Square, A new professional office park is rising as the first visible sign of planned commercial growth that's found a home along the N.C. 211 corridor in a growing part of the county.
When completed, St. James Square will consist of two 22,000-square-foot office buildings that will exemplify what real estate professionals call "Class A" office space.
Debby Daigle, a principal with project developer Coastal Commercial Real Estate, said the construction of St. James Square "reflects where the market is heading" to attract high-quality professional firms to the county's growing inland areas. The new offices are believed to be the first example of the Class A office type in the Southport-Oak Island area, she said.
Two stories of steel framing currently mark the future site of the office park, which sits across from a Brunswick Electric Membership Corp. substation and behind a small commercial strip fronting the highway. The first of two roughly identical steel-frame, brick exterior buildings will be completed by April or May, with the second building slated to begin construction in the next year, she said.
According to the Urban Land Institute, a industry authority on commercial land uses, Class A spaces are characterized by their ability to attract high-quality tenants and are managed professionally.
The institute defines Class B buildings as those that have good locations, management and construction, and very little functional obsolescence and deterioration. Class C buildings are typically 15 to 25 years old but have maintained steady occupancy.
The first St. James Square building is already 80 percent sold to professional services that will house physician offices, financial firms and realty offices, Daigle said. She compared the future office park to the tony building style exemplified at the Mayfaire commercial development in Wilmington.
Steve Johnson, executive director of the county's Economic Development Commission, described St. James Square as a harbinger of things to come in county commercial growth.
"I think that sort of stuff will happen all over the county. Smaller retail businesses will happen just because of the growth of our service industry sector," he said.
The county's five industrial parks are almost at capacity, Johnson said, and the county is looking to start a sixth park along the N.C. 211 corridor on land it already owns. Finding new areas for all types of business development - light industry, retail and service-oriented firms - is the development commission's main mission.
Coastal Commercial Real Estate, a partner in the St. James Square office park, will maintain its own offices there and provide on-site property management.
The twin buildings of St. James Square were designed by John Begue of Sharpe Architecture, and sit on 3.9 acres. They will offer office space ranging in size from 600 to 20,000 square feet. General contractor for the project is McKinley Builders, with interior design by Bays Design Concepts.
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