![]() Fast forward 10 years, I’m working on Lumina III, which is where Spartina is. “So we said, ‘Let’s condominimize the offices - this is not part of the original plan - it’s in response to the authorities. ![]() “When we designed Lumina II - it was designed for retail down and residential apartments and condos upstairs - we went to the governing authority and they said, ‘No, no you cannot put residences above retail, we don’t have a zoning for that.’ They said, ‘Well you can do offices,’” Tomaselli said. In 1999 the project won a contextual design award from “Coastal Living.” Tomaselli phased out of homebuilding to the primary developer of Lumina Station. After a minor setback in the wake of Hurricane Fran, Tomaselli said, “We were open for Christmas of ’96.” It may take a little longer, but in the long run you’ve got something people love and appreciate,” Tomaselli said.Ĭonstruction began in the summer of 1995 with completion in 1996. “Coming from a larger market, seeing that you can make the economics work if you put the time and money into the design and the landscaping, and the amenities, and the atmosphere, there’s an economic return, I think, on that investment. ![]() The economic value associated with the Lumina name, evoking the name Lumina Pavilion, and the trolley era, were all part of the aesthetic and the brand appeal. “He was a young and up-and-coming architect and I said, ‘Frank let’s do something architecturally appropriate for this location, let’s make it pedestrian friendly, and let’s save as many of the trees as we can,’” Tomaselli said. Miller would be the builder and they found their architect in Frank Smith. With no experience as a commercial developer, Tomaselli turned to the broker who had been selling his homes, Jim Wallace. The property was not located in the city at the time but in New Hanover County and the governing authority would not consider multi-family, only commercial or single family. “But its time had passed and it was time for something different.” “The trailer park was charming, I love trailer parks,” Tomaselli said. With the paving of I-40 from Raleigh, he envisioned the potential. He saw the Eastwood Road trailer park site as a great location: adjacent to Lions Gate and across the road from Landfall, en route to the beach. He moved with his wife and two sons in 1993 to Wilmington where Tomaselli built homes in Avenel, Providence, Pine Valley and Oak Village, and was one of the original developers of Laurel Lea, he said. That’s why people come here,” Tomaselli said.Ī Cherry Hill, N.J., native, Tomaselli had been a builder of single-family homes for 20 years in the Atlanta, Ga., market. The local merchants here, you don’t find them in the other markets. They get it and understand the value of local. “The current management is young and bright. It filed documents in Raleigh March 9 to conduct business as Lumina Station Commercial, LLC. ![]() ![]() It is the group’s first acquisition in North Carolina. Burroughs and Chapin is almost local in that they’re in Myrtle Beach.” “Burroughs and Chapin, I thought, understood the vision and the concept, the sense of place, the local orientation, the landscape,” Tomaselli said, adding, “understood and appreciated enough to pay the premium. The team might have sold sooner, before the 2008 recession hit, Tomaselli said, adding the right buyer had not materialized. “We have been approached by people two or three times a year for the last 15 years,” Tomaselli said. The combined sale totals $14.565 million, which excludes Lumina II’s upper level office condominiums, and Spartina, a town-home complex currently under construction.ĭuring an April 2 interview with Lumina News, Tomaselli said he and his partners never put the project on the market. Lumina Station II’s ground level retail assets also closed the same day for $5.826 million. His partners were Jim Wallace of Intracoastal Realty, and Gene Miller, who subsequently split his third with John Elmore and Lionel Yow. It was almost 20 years to the day, recalled Lumina Station’s managing partner Joel Tomaselli, that the LLC’s documents were filed with the N.C. Principals of the Myrtle Beach based investment firm, Burroughs and Chapin, are the new owners. A four and one-half acre Eastwood Road trailer park purchased in 1995 for $425,000 became the site for Lumina Station, the Phase I flagship retail, restaurant and office destination, which sold last week for $8.739 million. ![]()
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