Chris Hillier, NHRMC’s executive director for innovation, discusses a pilot project for an artificial intelligence-based cardiac coach to help patients aroudthe-clock.
WilminGton B iz 2 0 1 9 c o m m e r c i a l r e a l e s tat e i s s u e
Planting roots
Lloyd Singleton on tree management for storm prep Page 9
February 1-14, 2019 Vol. 20, No. 3
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“Buoys” by Nicole Roggeman – oil on canvas
for 11.1% of the economic activity in the tricounty area. That most certainly has gone up since. “When you think about investment, which is exactly what I call it, the past decade or so, give or take a year, we’ve invested over a billion dollars in facilities, technology, equipment,” Gizdic said. With the area’s population expected to continue to grow in the years ahead, the need for health care services won’t slow down anytime soon. “What has made our organization successful over the past decade is not necessarily what’s going to make us successful over the next decade. And what got us here isn’t going to get us to where we need to be,” Gizdic said. “That is really kind of a cultural shift that we need to make as an organization. So I think, over the next decade, it is really transforming our organization and what our organization looks like to really meet the health needs of our community.”
BOB is here
The 2019 Book on Business is out. To get a copy or order a downloadable version, go to wilmingtonbiz.com/bookonbusiness
Closing up shop
Several national retailers are shuttering stores Page 10
Cheers for causes
The social side of philanthropy Page 19
Index Banking & Finance ................................ 4 The List .....................................5, 14, 15 Health Care .......................................... 6 Economic Development ........................ 8 In Profile ............................................... 9 Real Estate ................................... 10-12 Business of Life ............................. 18-19
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PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER
Preparing for takeoff: Julie Wilsey, director of the Wilmington International Airport, stands outside the facility where an expansion is set to take place over the next few years to accommodate growth.
B ETSON DOWNTOWN
JAMES GOODNIGHT
ILM’S NEXT FLIGHT PLAN
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BY CHRISTINA HALEY O’NEAL
anding a third carrier and new flights at the Wilmington International Airport triggered unprecedented growth in passenger traffic last year. The new additions came as the airport embarks on its $60 million expansion that will increase ILM’s ability to handle more travelers in the coming years. Just over 934,000 passengers flew through the airport in 2018, 12 percent more than the previous year’s record. And that was despite a winter storm last January, a series of flight cancellations in the summer because of PSA Airlines’ technical issues nationwide and major disruption due to Hurricane Florence in September. Officials are now eyeing a milestone mark this year. “One million is an exciting number for us,” Airport Director Julie Wilsey said. “As we get closer, or break that 1 million passenger mark, it opens a lot of opportunities for ILM.” ILM wants to grow the airport but at the same time maintain that small-town, Southern charm that it has been known for, said Gary Broughton, the airport’s deputy director.
“Our growth has been well thought out,” he said. Pushing the airport expansion forward is the biggest focus for ILM officials in 2019, with construction underway over several contracts between now and 2022. The airport is expected to grow from 95,000 square feet to more than 173,000 square feet, based on the most recent designs, and would be able to accommodate an estimated 705,000 outbound passengers a year, when the expansion is complete. There are times at ILM now when areas of the airport are reaching capacity, Wilsey said. “We need to get the building expanded so we can support more services and more passengers as the airport grows,” Wilsey said. And as ILM gains more travelers and more capacity, possibilities open up for the regional airport. That includes employing more people. Currently, there are about 480 people working there, 50 of whom are ILM staff, Broughton said. ILM will need to hire more help in the future, but just how much help is still being determined, he said. Airport officials continue in 2019 to market for addi-
2019
BOOK ON BUSINESS
He’s rehabbed some of the city’s historic structures as outside investment continues to grow OCEANIC REBUILDS AFTER FLORENCE WHAT’S UP WITH CHUCK (SCHONINGER)
See ILM, page 13
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