Houston-based Weingarten Realty is handling the parcel, located to the right of the water fountain as you enter the resort-style community. Ken Wygle, a leasing executive who works out of Weingarten’s Raleigh office, says they are working to get as many tenants as possible to open with Harris Teeter later this year to ensure a successful start.

"Already, people are very positive about the project in the community," Wygle says.

The cornerstone of the Waterford commercial complex is the 48,000-square-foot Harris Teeter, which will house an extensive produce and seafood market inside. There is an additional 35,000 square feet of small shop space for restaurants and boutiques.

Early shopping center tenants include a UPS Store, Great Clips and Beverly Nails. There will also be a local restaurant chain, Two Guys Grille, which already has four locations open from Wrightsville Beach to Porters Neck. Wachovia and a Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q Franchisee, which has locations throughout eastern North Carolina, are set to take up two of the five available outparcels.

Waterford is a 1,048-home community. With the first commercial development onsite, planners brought in business such as a drugstore, Port City Java, The House of Wine & Cheese and The Spotted Toad gift boutique. They then added a medical center.

"It’s been our objective to give residents as little reason as possible to go out on Highway 17, to have as many services as possible close by," says Jane Baldridge, marketing consultant for Waterford. "And I know Weingarten wants a high-end feel."

Negotiations are ongoing, with many more local, regional and national tenants in the works, Wygle says. Those negotiations include discussions with Lowe’s Home Improvement center, which is awaiting approval from the town of Leland and the purchase of additional acres from Bert Exum, Waterford’s developer. If all goes well, Lowe’s could break ground sometime this summer.

Harris Teeter and the commercial center should open this fall.