BLAKE FARM COMMUNITY TO ADD APARTMENTS

A Wilmington-based commercial real estate and development firm has broken ground on an active adult apartment community in Scotts Hill.

Oak Grove at Blake Farm, located in the Blake Farm community, is expected to hold 186 apartments targeted toward residents ages 55 and older, “allowing them to maintain and promote a life of healthy and active living,” according to a news release from Blake Farm development company Trask Land Co.

The release said Oak Grove is expected to welcome tenants by spring 2024.

Amenities will include a rooftop terrace with a kitchen and grilling station, walking trails and community gathering areas.

The general contractor for the apartment project is C. Herman Construction. The full Oak Grove project has an estimated cost of about $40 million, according to the release, while overall, Blake Farm has $120 million worth of projects designed and permitted within the community.

“As the master developer of the Blake Farm master-planned community, Trask Land Company has completed $700,000 of offsite improvements, including a northbound left turn lane with signal, a right turn lane and deceleration lane,” the release stated.

According to the release, additional plans for Blake Farm call for about 100,000 square feet of commercial space that could include office/medical office, retail, restaurants and a grocery store.

New Fort Fisher Facilities On The Rise

At Fort Fisher State Historic Site, a new foundation is being laid that will allow the facility to tell a richer story of the area’s role in history.

Bordeaux Construction crews in March were at work on a concrete foundation for the site’s new visitor center, the first step in a multi-phase project that will also erect new facilities for the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the N.C. Office of State Archaeology, and pending funding from the N.C. General Assembly, reconstruct Civil Warera fortifications on the property.

By May, the foundation is expected to be complete, followed by the new two-story building. Slated for completion in April 2024, the new 24,000-square-foot visitor center will replace the current facility, which will remain open and operational until the new building is online. Built in 1965, the old visitor center is equipped to handle about 25,000 annual visitors; in 2021, the site saw more than 1 million. Larger premises will enable Fort Fisher to serve crowds with more exhibit space, storage for artifacts and offices plus a new auditorium and multipurpose room for events.

29,900

NUMBER OF SURF REPORTS TONY BUTLER POSTED SINCE 2003 TO WBLIVESURF.COM BEFORE SELLING THE SITE THIS YEAR