Thursday, March 1, 2012

Commercial Building Sells in Downtown Wilmington

A historic storefront in downtown Wilmington has a new owner.




John Hinnant, president and CEO of Wilmington Downtown Inc., said Monday that 220 N. Front St. has been sold.

Commercial building sells in Downtown Wilmington

According to the New Hanover County Register of Deeds records, the building was sold to Karma Building, LLC for $715,000 last week.



New Elements Gallery currently occupies the space.



Hinnant said the art gallery is in the process of relocating into new space at a building near the intersection of Second and Princess streets. He said the building’s new owners plan to convert the top floor into a private residence; however, plans for the ground level of the building were not released.



Officials with Karma Building, LLC could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.



Hinnant said having the building purchased is a good sign for downtown’s continued growth.



“It means that we can move this building off the vacant list, and onto the owner-occupied category,” Hinnant said. “Right now, downtown has an 86 percent occupancy rate.”