Cece Nunn

Wilmington-based commercial real estate broker Nicholas "Nick" Silivanch and his wife, Coble, have started a new firm. The couple founded Noble Commercial Real Estate Group after Nick Silivanch’s previous firm, Eastern Carolina Commercial Real Estate Inc., ceased brokerage services. Nick Silivanch said the new company came about when he and his wife considered what he could do next in his career. “She said, ‘People know you. People know your name….It makes sense for us to open up a commercial firm,’” he said. Nick Silivanch, who also serves as the vice chair of the NC Realtors Commercial Committee, is the broker in charge of Noble Commercial. Coble Silivanch is the vice president of operations. Nick Silivanch said he still specializes in multifamily, land development, retail and hospitality. “And that’s what our primary focus is. We’re also helping individual small investors get into commercial real estate, acquire their first properties, as we did recently over in Leland at 108 Old Fay

Wilmington-based commercial real estate broker Nicholas "Nick" Silivanch and his wife, Coble, have started a new firm. The couple founded Noble Commercial Real Estate Group after Nick Silivanch’s previous firm, Eastern Carolina Commercial Real Estate Inc., ceased brokerage services. Nick Silivanch said the new company came about when he and his wife considered what he could do next in his career. “She said, ‘People know you. People know your name….It makes sense for us to open up a commercial firm,’” he said. Nick Silivanch, who also serves as the vice chair of the NC Realtors Commercial Committee, is the broker in charge of Noble Commercial. Coble Silivanch is the vice president of operations. Nick Silivanch said he still specializes in multifamily, land development, retail and hospitality. “And that’s what our primary focus is. We’re also helping individual small investors get into commercial real estate, acquire their first properties, as we did recently over in Leland at 108 Old Fay

Several firms headquartered in the Wilmington area have ranked on the Inc. 5000 annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Those that make the list are ranked according to their percentage revenue growth over three years, from 2022 to 2025, according to business publication Inc. Magazine, which publishes the list each year. To qualify, firms must be privately held, for-profit, based in the U.S. and independent – not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies – as of Dec. 31, 2025. Companies also must have been founded and generated revenue by March 31, 2022, according to Inc. "The minimum revenue requirement is $100,000 for 2022 and $2 million for 2025. All honorees must pass Inc.’s editorial review,” Inc. Magazine’s article stated. The company that achieved the highest ranking of the nine based in the Wilmington region was No. 53, Steel City Financial Services, a licensed health insurance agency with an office on Military Cutoff Road. According to its website, the compan

I dislocated my right elbow when I fell on a sidewalk in New York City. Not the best day I’ve ever had, but also not the worst. Except for the pain. I wouldn’t recommend it – maybe consider childbirth first. But on the bright side, the emergency room at New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital, a short distance away from where I ate the pavement on Madison Avenue, provided top-notch care. I’d say the same for a recent ER experience I had at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center. In both instances, the facilities provided what I needed in a fast, efficient and caring manner. But looking at the big picture, overall hospital performances aren’t my expertise. That’s why we need reporters – to ask the important questions and paint an unbiased, informative picture of health. In the Pulse healthcare section of this issue of WilmingtonBiz Magazine, reporter Cierra Noffke takes a detailed look at the performance of Novant Health NHRMC since Novant closed on its purchase of

I dislocated my right elbow when I fell on a sidewalk in New York City. Not the best day I’ve ever had, but also not the worst. Except for the pain. I wouldn’t recommend it – maybe consider childbirth first. But on the bright side, the emergency room at New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital, a short distance away from where I ate the pavement on Madison Avenue, provided top-notch care. I’d say the same for a recent ER experience I had at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center. In both instances, the facilities provided what I needed in a fast, efficient and caring manner. But looking at the big picture, overall hospital performances aren’t my expertise. That’s why we need reporters – to ask the important questions and paint an unbiased, informative picture of health. In the Pulse healthcare section of this issue of WilmingtonBiz Magazine, reporter Cierra Noffke takes a detailed look at the performance of Novant Health NHRMC since Novant closed on its purchase of

This spring and summer have been a rough time for the city of Southport’s Parks & Recreation Department. In March, four of the department’s employees were placed on paid administrative leave, according to a news release the town emailed that day. Their job titles and identities were not released at the time. “These actions were due to the appearance of financial irregularities that were discovered after a forensic accounting investigation,” the release stated. “The matter has been referred to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for further review and investigation.” Officials said under the circumstances, the Southport Parks & Recreation Before/After-School Program was suspended indefinitely. “Parents and guardians will need to arrange for other means of childcare,” according to the release. “We understand the unexpected burden that this places on those parents and guardians and do apologize for the inconvenience.” Also, as a result of the administrative leave, indoor re

In a lawsuit filed Friday, a prominent Wilmington-based luxury homebuilder alleges he’s been the victim of a defamation campaign aimed at destroying his reputation and businesses. Attorneys for Mark Batson, owner of Tongue & Groove, filed the complaint in New Hanover County Superior Court, naming five other local businessmen and two companies as defendants. According to a news release from the office of Batson’s attorneys, the defendants are “competing builders and associated individuals,” and the filing states they “undertook a coordinated effort to undermine” Batson and his companies.  “Batson asserts that defendants, unable to compete on the business merits, engaged in a multi-pronged attack including a slander campaign, dissemination of false statements, and use of AI-generated imagery accusing Batson of having extramarital sex with clients at the clients’ homes,” Batson’s attorneys said in the release Friday. The filing alleges that defendants spread lies “through multiple chan

Dreams can come true in Hollywood East too. At least some of them are coming true for the head of Cape Fear Community College's film program, who has hoped for many years that his classes could be based at Cinespace Studios' Wilmington location on North 23rd Street. The program is moving from CFCC's North Campus on Blue Clay Road to a soundstage at Cinespace this summer. “For more than 20 years, we’ve dreamed of building this program into what it was always meant to be. Relocating CFCC’s film and video production technology program to Cinespace gives students the rare opportunity to learn in the environment where professional filmmaking happens every day," said Duke Fire, the program director. "Being immersed on a working film lot is instrumental for future filmmakers, and experiencing on-set protocol firsthand provides knowledge and experience that simply can’t be replicated in a traditional classroom setting.” CFCC President Jim Morton said the move will nearly triple the program's space, from

The owners of Drift Coffee & Kitchen have grounds to celebrate. They’ve opened a coffee roastery in Monkey Junction, along with another coffee shop and company headquarters, at 5315 South College Road.  “We’ve always been interested in the whole process of coffee, from the actual agricultural side to the roasting distribution,” said Michael Powell, who co-founded Drift with his brother, Ben, in 2014. “We’ve been serving people the last kind of stage of coffee, and now we see them experiencing what we wanted to be a part of – the earlier stage – and control that a little bit more.” Drift has been using beans from its roastery for a couple of months, quietly supplying its stores before a public announcement on social media. The approach was intentional. Previously, Drift sourced its coffee beans from Black & White Coffee Roasters, a nationally recognized roaster based in Raleigh. Powell said the bar was high. “We did not want to go backward in quality,” he said.  Drift’s roasting p

Phil and Amanda Miller, the entrepreneurial couple behind the pet resort brand Pawville, have acquired Five Oaks Nursery, which has had a presence in the Wilmington horticultural community since 1980. According to a news release, the acquisition includes the nursery’s two retail locations – Five Oaks Wrightsboro and Five Oaks Oleander (formerly Blooms and Branches) – as well as its 47-acre production farm in Burgaw. The Millers have scaled service-oriented businesses before, having grown Pawville to nine locations (including in Wilmington and surrounding areas) and two vet hospitals across multiple states, according to the release. Phil Miller continues in a full-time role at Pawville, but jumped at the opportunity to purchase the new business, citing its scalability and creative potential, the release stated. The Millers hired Felipe Graham as CEO to oversee the nursery's operations. “Graham has the ability to think strategically about the business at a very high level while also being able