Quick answer: The ILM airport expansion is a roughly $300 million program that’s reshaping Wilmington International Airport through the early 2030s. The headliners: a brand-new parking garage opening in November 2026, a new entrance road and curbfront opening around March 2027, and a terminal expansion in design that would add four more gates. The airport that was built around 2,300 passengers a year now serves 1.8 million — and it’s building like it expects a lot more.
I’m Tabi, a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, and when buyers ask me “is Wilmington still growing?”, the airport is one of the most concrete answers I can point to. Nobody spends $300 million on a hunch. Here’s everything that’s under construction or on the drawing board at ILM, with every number dated and sourced.
Opening soonest: the parking garage (November 2026)
The most visible piece of the ILM airport expansion is the new parking garage, scheduled to open in November 2026 — in time for Thanksgiving travel (WWAY, September 2026). It’s part of a roughly $135 million road, entrance, and curbfront project, nearly half of the airport’s whole capital program. If you’ve flown out of ILM lately and navigated the temporary curbfront, this is the project all those cones have been building toward.
The new front door: entrance road and curbfront (2027)
The airport’s existing entrance road was built in 1990, when ILM served about 2,300 passengers. Today it serves 1.8 million. The replacement — a new roadway and curbfront, plus a tunnel under the road with escalators rising into a new atrium — is expected to open around the end of March 2027, before spring break, with the whole project wrapping by summer 2027 (WWAY, September 2026). The terminal is getting cosmetic updates too, including a new look for the green-and-brick roofline.
More gates: the terminal expansion in design
The next big phase of the ILM airport expansion is a 25,000-square-foot terminal addition, currently in design, that would add four new gates and room for about 1.9 million annual departing passengers — a $36.6 million project, with construction eyed for 2028 or early 2029 (WilmingtonBiz, March 2026; WWAY, September 2026). A $12.8 million ramp project to prepare the apron for those gates started in fall 2026. More gates is the piece that matters most for travelers, because gates are what let airlines add the new nonstop routes everyone keeps asking for.
The rest of the list
- Baggage: a $3.5 million outbound baggage expansion began in summer 2026, with a $12.8 million inbound-side project (a new arrivals carousel) planned for 2029 or 2030.
- Runway: a $25 million resurfacing and rehabilitation running in three phases from 2026 through 2031.
- A second parking garage: four floors and up to 1,500 spaces, about $50 million, in early design for 2032 or 2033.
- Roads around the airport: NCDOT’s 23rd Street widening has finished design, and the airport is extending Hall Drive to Castle Hayne Road to serve its growing business park.
All told, the capital program comes to about $243 million in airport projects — over $490 million counting private investment in the adjacent business park — funded through federal and state grants and the airport’s own revenue (WilmingtonBiz, March 2026).
What the ILM airport expansion means if you’re moving here
Two practical takeaways. First, the short term: construction means the drive up to the terminal changes from month to month, so give yourself a few extra minutes and follow the signs until the new entrance opens in 2027. Second, the long game: ILM’s passenger count grew 67% between 2019 and 2025, and the airport is building for a future with more flights, more gates, and easier logistics. For anyone weighing a move here while keeping ties — family up north, a job that needs airport access — the trend line is pointed exactly the way you’d want it.
Curious how airport access factors into where to buy? Call or text Tabi: 910-983-8963, or send a note through my contact page.
Keep exploring
Get the basics in my Wilmington NC airport guide, see whether a flying commute from ILM could work for you, or check what else is changing on the roads in my Cape Fear Memorial Bridge post.
Tabi Klein is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage in Wilmington, NC. Project details, costs, and dates come from the sources below as of October 2026; construction timelines change, so check flyILM for the latest. Nothing here is a prediction about real estate values. Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Sources: WWAY, “Phase 2 of ILM expansion enters final stretch” (September 2026); WilmingtonBiz, “ILM plans for future growth with $243M in capital projects” (March 2026); flyILM (October 2026).
