Center Point, at Eastwood and Military Cutoff, now has residents and no open storefronts, and it will stay that way through the winter. People started moving into The Sterling, the project's 265-unit apartment building, in mid-September. In the week of Oct. 6, the four retail shells next door were handed to their tenants for interior build-outs. The developer told WilmingtonBiz that the first tenants should open in early spring 2027.
That spring date pushes back at least one promise made this summer. It also sets the order the whole 18-acre site will fill in: residents first, then the early-morning and appointment businesses, then offices in 2028. The signed tenants show what kind of place this is meant to be. It is built around weekday routines, starting at 6:30 a.m.
The bagel shop that was due by Thanksgiving
In June, Port City Daily reported that Jeff's Bagel Run would open a second Wilmington shop at Center Point "by Thanksgiving," according to Bill Neeland, an investor in the local franchise. The building it will open in was only delivered for build-out in October. The developer's newer timeline puts all of Center Point's first openings in early spring 2027 and doesn't give the bagel shop its own date.
The franchise's first Wilmington shop is the one to watch for a preview. It's at 3544 Oleander Drive, beside Jersey Mike's in front of Independence Mall. Its grand opening was set for June 26. Port City Daily described a 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. schedule, seven days a week. The shop runs on a bakery license, so it can't toast bagels; customers toast them at home. The Wilmington locations are planned without drive-thrus, which sets up the Center Point shop as a walk-in morning stop.
The owners explained the site choice in plain numbers. They wanted high foot traffic, and they pointed to the nearly 50,000 cars a day on Military Cutoff as the reason it was ideal. Many of those drivers already live around Mayfaire. Starting this fall, a building full of new neighbors sits right next to the counter.
What the signed tenants have in common
As of early October, Center Point had signed leases for about 65% of its first-phase retail space. Counting letters of intent, nearly 90% is spoken for. These are the signed businesses and what has been published about each:
| Tenant | What it is | Space | Published timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burtons Grill & Bar | Restaurant serving scratch-made American dishes | Just over 6,000 sq. ft. | Its Center Point page says 2027 |
| Jeff's Bagel Run | Scratch bagel bakery with coffee | About 1,500 sq. ft. | Early spring 2027 project-wide estimate |
| Nest Interiors and Blended Shoes + Apparel | Home goods and fashion, now combined into one store | More than 3,600 sq. ft. | Early spring 2027 project-wide estimate |
| Thompson's of Wilmington | Men's clothing | Just over 1,700 sq. ft. | Early spring 2027 project-wide estimate |
| Self Skin Studio | Med spa | 2,589 sq. ft. | Early spring 2027 project-wide estimate |
| SWTHZ, listed as Sweathouz | Private contrast-therapy suites | 1,820 sq. ft. | Early spring 2027 project-wide estimate |
Burtons is the only full-service restaurant on the list. The rest are a morning bakery, two shops you browse during the day, and two businesses you book ahead. According to WilmingtonBiz, each Sweathouz studio has infrared saunas, cold plunges and vitamin C showers, run on what the leasing release called "a premium, appointment-based model that drives repeat visitation." Self Skin Studio was founded by Wilmington native Trish Holmes and focuses on natural-looking injectables and advanced skin treatments.
A tenant mix like this is meant to bring the same people back again and again. Most stops will be a regular appointment, a morning coffee run, or a fitting for a suit.
Center Point's online directory also lists Al's Burger Shack. The North Carolina burger restaurant already has a Leland location, and the StarNews reported Aug. 1 that it was coming to Wilmington. It wasn't among the signed tenants the developer named in October, so for now it's a directory listing without a lease or opening date attached.
Why it fills in one small piece at a time
Center Point is a joint venture of Charleston-based The Beach Company and Wilmington-based Swain & Associates. The finished project is planned for more than 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, along with apartments and offices. Phase one is about a third of that, at more than 32,000 square feet in four buildings. Morgan Bentivegna, development manager at The Beach Company, explained the pace to WilmingtonBiz:
"Rather than building 100,000 square feet of retail all at once and trying to build it up, we're trying to be really strategic about who the users are and making sure that we've got a strong little pocket here."
That approach explains the order. Based on the published timelines, the sequence looks like this:
- Mid-September 2026: Residents begin moving into The Sterling's 265 apartments.
- Week of Oct. 6, 2026: The four phase-one retail shells go to tenants for build-out.
- Early spring 2027: The first tenants are expected to open.
- 2028: The first phase-two building is expected to be finished. It has a 15,000-square-foot footprint, with retail on the ground floor and offices upstairs.
- After that: The rest of phase two depends on market demand.
The 2028 building explains why the tenant list leans so heavily toward weekdays. Bentivegna told WilmingtonBiz that office tenants now look for places where workers can walk across the street for coffee or lunch. She added that one user might take all 15,000 square feet, or several might split it into bays. A bagel counter that opens at 6:30 a.m. and a restaurant that seats a lunch crowd are the businesses an office floor will want next door. Road paving and landscaping are already underway on the southern part of the site, where that next phase will go.
Mayfaire Town Center covers the months in between
Until spring, the nearest new storefronts are across the road at Mayfaire Town Center, where two arrived earlier this year. The StarNews reported in late May that Lovesac and Flip Flop Shops had opened. A July gallery from the paper placed Lovesac at 6858 Main St. and Flip Flop Shops at 917 Town Center Drive. Mayfaire's "Now Open & On the Way!" page lists Madewell, Ben & Jerry's, KidStrong, Flip Flop Shops, Lovesac and Pandora as open. The "Coming Soon" section names no one and says only "Stay tuned."
With nothing announced as coming to the Town Center, Center Point is where the area's next openings are lined up.
The closest date on the calendar is Halloween at Dave & Buster's, 953 Town Center Drive. Mayfaire's events listing shows a family-friendly Boo Bash from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 31 and an adults-only Moonlight Mixer from 7 to 10 p.m. the same evening. Both require tickets.
If you're waiting for the Center Point bagel shop specifically, the franchise's Oleander Drive location was set up to open at 6:30 a.m. every day. The first round of Center Point doors should open in early spring 2027, about five months after the shells were handed over.
If you'd like to know how projects like this are changing the Mayfaire area, or what living near one looks like day to day, Stephanie Vogel would be glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.
