Cape Fear CREW Announces 2021 Awards of Excellence Winners

Cape Fear CREW is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Awards of Excellence, held yesterday at the Wilmington Convention Center. The awards, which focus on the rapidly growing Cape Fear Region commercial real estate sector, recognize excellence and leadership in commercial real estate. The event was led by Cape Fear CREW President, Gale Wallace of Clarendon Properties, who noted, “We were thrilled with the quality and number of awards submissions in what has to be one of the most challenging years for any business. Congratulations to the winning companies, organizations and leaders who won in a very competitive field.”  
 

Best Interior Award
End of Days Distillery
End of Days Distillery is Wilmington’s only working distillery that offers tours and tastings. The project involved taking a dilapidated Quonset hut built in the 1940’s and turning it into a working distillery that houses a 1,000-gallon mash tun, 500-gallon pot still, and a rick house that will hold 140 barrels of aging spirits. As part of the new Cargo District, they brought in a shipping container to create a main hallway. The stunning black wall showcased in the distillery underwent a technique called “Shou Sugi Ban”, a burnt timber process that shows what the inside of a bourbon barrel looks like. The owners designed the space themselves, overcoming obstacles in upfitting the building while keeping its original character.
 
Dealmaker Award
River Place Development, Leasing & Sales
In 2014, Wilmington issued an RFP for the "Riverfront Development Opportunity" to redevelop the Water Street Park Deck. The City chose East West Partners based on their experience, quality of design, ability to execute, and the financial benefits. River Place respects its historic surroundings architecturally. It also provides a continuation of Bijou Park through the middle of the project. In contracts with Duke Energy, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority and the City of Wilmington, the ownership executed projects addressing utilities, streets, and reconstruction of the parking deck. Banks were not eager to lend money in a tertiary market, but private financing was secured. Today, 81 condos are sold, 34 apartments are leased, and 30,000 square feet of retail is signed.
 
Placemaking Award
Live Oak Bank Fitpark
This hybrid fitness and parking structure for Live Oak Bank’s corporate campus met goals of sustainability, connectivity and transparency with materials of wood, steel, and glass. The south side provides parking and connections to the surrounding community, while the linear bar to the north connects with the pedestrian-oriented campus. The design rethinks the paradigm of the traditional office parking garage and how it relates to a campus environment. The fitness component provides an attractive visual buffer from the adjacent campus buildings. The 18,000 square foot fitness space features yoga and cardio studios, fitness equipment, a clinic, rooftop deck, and outdoor exercise spaces in an open environment. Rooftop solar panels help to power the building and support campus sustainability initiatives, while EV charging stations encourage a more sustainable commute.
 
Economic and Community Enhancement Award
Truist Place, Whiteville
Having occupied aging facilities in Whiteville since the 1960's, BB&T now Truist reached a crossroads on renovating their existing space or starting over. Realizing the best solution was to build a new facility, Truist broke ground on a 101,000 square foot facility along J.K. Powell Boulevard. With over 500 employees in the Whiteville community, the Bank wanted its new workplace to support and be an integral part of the Whiteville community. The Bank also wanted a space that would celebrate its merger with SunTrust and its vision to become Truist Financial. The new facility provides up to 640 employees with state of the art work areas, broader health service amenities with fresh-food options, and a health clinic and fitness center on-site, critical to attracting and retaining teammates.
 
Career Advancement for Women
Maggi Apel and Vicky Janowski, WILMA’s Women to Watch Leadership Initiative
Maggi Apel and Vicky Janowski have been leading a community-wide initiative since 2015 designed to help develop more women leaders in Wilmington-area businesses and organizations. They have launched numerous programs under the Women to Watch umbrella including the WILMA Leadership Institute, training and networking opportunities through the Accelerator program, a leadership class project, an alumni group, special Facebook page for the WILMA Network, a Women to Watch Awards program and a "Get on Board" program to provide board training and board membership opportunities. Maggi and Vicky are having a direct impact on careers and lives with those who have gone through the Leadership Institute.  Maggi and Vicky have made advancements in their own leadership abilities and they continue to be mentors for other organizations.
 
Evolve Award
Downtown Alive ILM
With the COVID-19 shut-down, Downtown Wilmington business owners reached out to the Downtown Business Alliance for an effort to bring customers back in safely. After researching how other markets successfully addressed this challenge and receiving suggestions from Downtown businesses, a plan of action was put into place. Once presented to and approved by City Council, marketing efforts including safety guideline signage, posters, press outreach and social media were coordinated by volunteers and the program was launched. Downtown Alive ILM received national and regional press and inquiries asking for guidance for other cities. Downtown Alive became a significant draw, enabling restaurants and retailers to open their doors safely. Businesses reported revenues in line with the previous year, even with 50% occupancy.