Groundbreaking ceremony held for second phase of Wilmington Trade Center industrial complex

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — About 15 minutes from the Port of Wilmington is the Wilmington Trade Center, a master planned industrial park off of Highway 421.

On Thursday, a ground-breaking ceremony was held for the second phase of construction at the Center.

Elected leaders from Wilmington and New Hanover County took part in the ceremony.

It currently has three industrial buildings on site, each over 100,000 square feet in size.

Phase two will see the construction of four additional buildings, each containing more than 150,000 square feet.

New Hanover County Commissioner Stephanie Walker said once this next phase is completed, it will bring more jobs to the area.

“Business development is very important, it also helps with job growth and wages, is what we’re hoping,’ Walker said. “Wilmington is a very attractive place to be, North Carolina in general is as well for business. And we really want to work on our workforce issues and I hope this definitely helps with that.”

Plans call for 10 buildings in total, including the eventual construction of a 1 million square foot building.