It' a quaint idea: being able to walk, bike or skate to shops, offices and restaurants without ever having to leave the neighborhood. But it' more than just an idea for the Brody-Zimmer development team. It' a concept whose time has come for Wilmington, North Carolina, an area that' emerging as a retail hub, attracting a variety of national retailers and giving local residents an alternative to mall shopping. The concept is Mayfaire Town Center, a $200 million, planned mixed-use development, which will include premiere retail, office, residential and recreational opportunities, all with pedestrian access.

Mayfaire is a joint development between H.J. Brody and Robert Beller of BrodyCo, Inc., based in Greenville, North Carolina, and Alan, Herbert and Jeffery Zimmer of Wilmington-based Zimmer Development Company. It' positioned on the 394-acre Hardy Parker farm on the west side of Military Cutoff Road, to the north of Eastwood Road on the eastern-most side of Wilmington. The city of Wilmington annexed the site because there was already a significant residential population along with a strong retail and commercial presence. Planning officials describe the land around the site as an "urbanizing area."

"It' the largest undeveloped track of land in the Wrightsville Beach area," says Brody. "It' part of the beginning of the whole mixed-use concept for the area."

The center will include several types of residential areas -- such as single family housing on various sized lots, each within a two-minute walk of open space. Alleyways and sidewalks will be used to provide nicer, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Toward the center of the community, there will be a variety of attached housing, including cluster housing, apartments and even some lofts in the retail center. Office space will accommodate medical services, small businesses and high-tech entrepreneurs, providing those who live in Mayfaire a place to work. And hotels will be constructed for vacationing families and business travelers.

A major portion of the site will be dedicated to large open spaces -- soccer fields, recreational areas, parks, bike paths and hiking trails --in addition to the nearby 100 acres that will be set aside to remain in their natural state. Soccer fields, tennis courts and parks all will be within easy walking or bicycling distance from homes.

"It will be designed with areas that people who live there can actually use -- so it won1t have just impervious surfaces that aren1t developed," says Brody.

Mayfaire' design will follow in the tradition of the nation' most respected modern neighborhoods -- such as Reston, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.; Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida; Phillips Place in Charlotte, North Carolina; Seaside on the Florida panhandle; Kentlands in Gaithersburg, Maryland; and Port Royal, South Carolina. These mixed-use communities offer lively public spaces with design influences ranging from the commercial streetscapes of Charleston and Savannah to the public gardens and residential townhomes of Bath, England.

"It' very cutting-edge for North Carolina," notes Roxana Kish, director of leasing for the center. "Once you get outside Raleigh and, to some extent, even Charlotte, there really is nothing of this magnitude out there."

Developers are working with top-notch consultants on the project, including land planner, Land Design of Southern Pines/Raleigh and Washington, and Cooper Carry Architecture, who has worked on numerous other town centers. The Atlanta-based architectural firm took close to 2,000 photos of Wilmington historical areas, from downtown to the seashore, to try to capture elements to incorporate into the design of the center. "The goal is to reflect a more modern version of the Wilmington of the past," notes Brody.

A main street serves as the retail center point, offering easy access to specialty shopping, with storefronts facing streets and public squares, fine dining and entertainment. There will be on-street parking in front of stores and off-street parking behind them. Restaurants, sidewalk cafes, movie theaters, top-name fashion stores and lifestyle stores will be featured as part of Mayfaire' upper-tier retail center.

"There is an existing mall, called Independence Mall, in the market, with a nice tenant line-up, but we really felt that what was missing was better retail," says Kish. "We' looking at the upper moderate, better retailers in an attempt to complement what already exists there, both on the street fronts as well as on College, which is the big box commercial area. We' trying to bring new blood into the market."

Kish reports that the response they' seeing from both the regional and national retail community has been very good, with interest from a lot of regional retailers out of the Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte markets. A number of outparcel pads are marked for restaurants and cafes, which are required to provide outdoor, cafÁ, European-type seating. "The tenancy is oriented to a 24/7 lifestyle," notes Kish. "We really want Mayfaire to be a place you can just 'be1 -- we refer to it as a 'place,1 not just a shopping environment."

Wilmington seems to be a prime market for a center like Mayfaire. According to a recent U.S. Census report, New Hanover County' population has risen by more than 40,000 in the past decade, and income levels have risen even faster, from an average household income of $34,531 in 1990 to $48,841 in 2000. Mayfaire is also adjacent to The Landfall area, which is being referred to by developers as "the uptown and financial center" and is also a successful retirement community with approximately 1600 homes with an average price of $500,000. And with the introduction of Interstate 40 that runs through the area, new retail in Wilmington is drawing residents from Raleigh, Greensboro, Myrtle Beach and Charleston.

Though incoming residents can visit existing retail locations, like Independence Mall, Brody says Mayfaire will offer them something different. "There' really nothing like Mayfaire on the eastern side of North Carolina," he says. "We feel that with so many smaller towns nearby and around the area, that this will bring something unique - this type of live/work/play environment -- into the marketplace."

Brody also notes that Wilmington has the attractiveness of the beach; major industries, such as General Electric and Corning; and one of the largest movie studios in the U.S., which will also make Mayfaire very successful for the marketplace. "Wilmington is a wonderful market - the eighth largest market in retail sales in the state," adds Brody. "It' a quaint, little Southern town that reminds me of what Charleston used to be like in the late 1970s. That' kind of where we are now, so hopefully it will be a real push for us in terms of growth and recognition in the area."

Mayfaire is projected to be a major boost to the Wilmington and New Hanover County economy -- contributing about 10,770 new jobs over seven years, according to a study by UNC at Wilmington. Professors predict that when the project is completed, it will pump an additional $6.3 million a year of local tax revenues into Wilmington and New Hanover County' economy for better schools, more parks and better roads.

All in all, developers see Mayfaire as a win-win venture. "We1ve been met with very positive responses from the people in the community, city officials and the retail environment," says Brody. "A lot of people feel that what we' bringing to the area is first class, and I think because we1ve really done our homework and tried to approach this in a first-class manner, everyone has embraced the project."

Construction on Mayfaire Town Center is scheduled to begin late this fall or early 2002. The center will open somewhere between spring and fall of 2003.

©2001 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.