Market Overview
Cumberland County sits in the south-central portion of North Carolina with Fayetteville as its county seat and economic center. The metro area population is approaching 350,000, making it the sixth-largest metro in the state. The city itself is home to roughly 210,000 residents, but those figures undercount the economic reality on the ground. Fort Liberty — renamed from Fort Bragg in 2023 — houses approximately 57,000 active-duty soldiers alongside tens of thousands of family members, civilian employees, and defense contractors who live, shop, and lease space throughout the surrounding community. When you factor in the installation's total economic footprint, the effective population consuming goods and services in Cumberland County is substantially larger than what census data alone would suggest.
Fort Liberty is the headquarters of the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), U.S. Army Reserve Command, and the XVIII Airborne Corps, among other major commands. It is also home to the U.S. Army's Special Operations Command at the adjacent special operations campus. This concentration of command authority means the installation is not a single-mission base that could be realigned under BRAC review — it is a multi-mission, multi-command hub that the Department of Defense has continued to invest in through new construction, facility modernization, and force structure decisions that reinforce its long-term role. For commercial real estate investors, that institutional permanence is the foundation of the entire market.
Beyond the military economy, Fayetteville supports a civilian employment base that includes Fayetteville State University (a historically Black university within the UNC System), Cape Fear Valley Health System (the largest healthcare provider between Raleigh and Wilmington), Goodyear Tire and Rubber's manufacturing operations, and a growing cluster of defense and government contracting firms. The I-95 corridor bisects the county and connects Fayetteville to markets north and south, while I-295 (the Fayetteville Outer Loop) has opened new development corridors on the city's western and southern edges.
Fayetteville's downtown has been undergoing a multi-year revitalization anchored by the Segra Stadium minor league baseball park, the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, and a growing inventory of adaptive reuse projects converting older commercial buildings into mixed-use space. The downtown streetscape improvements, public art installations, and event programming have shifted the perception of the urban core from a pass-through to a destination, and commercial lease rates in the Hay Street corridor have responded accordingly.
The county's cost of living and cost of doing business remain materially lower than the Triangle to the north, which has created a spillover dynamic. Businesses priced out of Raleigh-Durham and contractors who need proximity to Fort Liberty without Triangle overhead are increasingly evaluating Fayetteville for office, warehouse, and operational space. This price arbitrage, combined with the military demand floor, creates a commercial market with both stability and upside.
Property Types in Cumberland County
Office demand in Fayetteville is driven heavily by defense contracting, government services, and professional services firms that support both the military community and the civilian population. Defense contractors — ranging from publicly traded firms to small veteran-owned businesses — need Class A and B office space with proximity to Fort Liberty's gates and the security clearances that certain locations facilitate. The Yadkin Road and Raeford Road corridors near the installation's main gates concentrate the heaviest defense-related office demand. Downtown Fayetteville has been absorbing a growing share of professional services tenants — attorneys, accountants, financial planners, and staffing firms — who benefit from courthouse proximity and the revitalizing streetscape. Suburban office product along Skibo Road and the Cliffdale Road corridor serves medical practices, insurance agencies, and general professional tenants.
Retail in Cumberland County benefits from a consumer base that is unusually young and unusually stable. Active-duty military families tend to be younger than the general population, and their spending patterns skew toward fast-casual dining, fitness, auto services, and family-oriented entertainment. Cross Creek Mall, anchored at the intersection of Skibo Road and US-401, remains the regional retail center and draws shoppers from a multi-county trade area. The Skibo Road corridor west of the mall supports a dense concentration of national chain restaurants, big-box retailers, and service tenants. Yadkin Road has developed into a secondary retail corridor with strong traffic counts driven by commuters moving between Fort Liberty and residential neighborhoods to the east and south. Retail vacancy in well-located corridors has generally tracked below the statewide average, reflecting the steady demand from military households with predictable income.
Industrial and logistics space is one of the fastest-evolving segments of the Cumberland County market. The county's position along I-95 — the primary north-south freight corridor on the East Coast — and its access to I-295 and US-401 make it a natural distribution point for companies serving the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The Cedar Creek Industrial Park and parcels along the I-95 interchange zones have attracted warehouse and distribution operations seeking lower land costs than the Triangle's industrial market while maintaining access to the same transportation network. Cold storage, third-party logistics providers, and e-commerce fulfillment operations have been among the most active industrial tenants in recent years. The county's foreign trade zone designation adds another layer of appeal for import-dependent businesses.
Multi-family investment in Fayetteville is undergirded by the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) that military families receive. BAH rates for Cumberland County are set annually by the Department of Defense and effectively establish a floor under rental rates for a significant portion of the tenant population. Landlords who understand BAH dynamics — which vary by rank, dependency status, and whether the service member lives on or off the installation — can underwrite multi-family acquisitions with a degree of income predictability that few civilian markets offer. The permanent change of station (PCS) cycle, which moves military families in and out of Fayetteville on roughly two- to three-year rotations, creates consistent turnover and re-leasing activity. For investors, this means vacancies tend to be short and seasonal rather than structural. Multi-family demand is strongest in the neighborhoods surrounding Fort Liberty's gates, along the Yadkin Road corridor, and in the Hope Mills area south of the city.
Why Invest in Fayetteville Commercial Real Estate
The investment case for Cumberland County starts and ends with Fort Liberty. The installation generates an annual economic impact estimated at north of $30 billion when you account for military payroll, civilian employment, contractor spending, retiree benefits, and the multiplier effects that ripple through the local economy. That figure is not theoretical — it translates into occupied storefronts, leased office suites, and filled apartment units on a scale that most secondary markets cannot match. Military installations of this size do not close. The concentration of command authority at Fort Liberty, the billions already invested in on-post infrastructure, and the installation's role in power projection and special operations training make it as close to a permanent economic anchor as any investor could ask for.
BAH-backed rents provide a demand floor that insulates multi-family investors from the worst effects of economic downturns. During the 2008-2012 recession, when civilian rental markets across the country experienced rising vacancies and falling rents, military-adjacent markets like Fayetteville held relatively steady because service members continued receiving housing allowances regardless of the broader economy. That counter-cyclical characteristic is a structural feature of military markets, not a historical coincidence, and it makes Cumberland County attractive to investors who prioritize income stability.
Affordability relative to other North Carolina metros is a significant advantage. Commercial property prices in Fayetteville are materially lower than comparable assets in Raleigh, Charlotte, or even the Triad, while rental rates have been trending upward as the market absorbs demand from Triangle spillover and defense sector growth. Cap rates for stabilized commercial properties in Cumberland County remain more favorable than what buyers are finding in larger metros, creating opportunities for stronger cash-on-cash returns at lower basis points.
The logistics infrastructure creates a separate investment thesis for industrial and distribution properties. As e-commerce fulfillment networks continue to decentralize and companies seek lower-cost distribution points along major freight corridors, Fayetteville's I-95 position and available industrial land become increasingly valuable. The county is within a day's drive of roughly half the U.S. population, and land costs for industrial development are a fraction of what developers pay in the I-85 corridor or the Raleigh-Durham market.
Raleigh spillover is an emerging dynamic that is still in its early stages. As the Triangle's population grows toward two million and commercial rents continue climbing, businesses and investors are expanding their search radius. Fayetteville sits roughly 60 miles south of Raleigh along I-95 and US-401 — close enough to access Triangle labor markets and supply chains while operating at a materially lower cost basis. This spillover effect has been most visible in light industrial and warehouse demand, but it is beginning to show up in office and retail as well.
Key Areas & Corridors
Skibo Road is the dominant commercial corridor in Cumberland County. Running east-west through the heart of Fayetteville, it connects the Cross Creek Mall retail node to the broader road network and concentrates the highest density of national retail tenants, restaurants, and service businesses in the metro. Pad sites and inline retail along Skibo Road command premium rents and maintain low vacancy. The corridor also supports a mix of medical office, branch banking, and auto-oriented uses. For retail tenants, a Skibo Road location provides visibility and traffic counts that are difficult to replicate anywhere else in the county.
Yadkin Road runs north-south and serves as the primary connector between Fort Liberty's main gate area and residential neighborhoods to the south and east. The corridor has developed a dense concentration of military-oriented retail and service businesses — uniform shops, barber shops, tax preparers, used car dealers, and fast-casual restaurants — that cater to the active-duty population. Multi-family properties along Yadkin Road benefit from direct gate access and tend to maintain strong occupancy driven by BAH-backed tenants. The intersection of Yadkin Road and Bragg Boulevard is one of the most trafficked commercial nodes in the county.
Raeford Road provides secondary access to Fort Liberty from the west and supports a mix of commercial uses that serve both military and civilian populations. The corridor includes strip retail, medical office, government services offices, and a growing number of defense contractor locations. Raeford Road has seen incremental commercial development in recent years as residential growth in the western suburbs generates new rooftops and new demand for neighborhood-serving retail and services.
Downtown Fayetteville has been the focus of concentrated public and private investment over the past decade. The arrival of Segra Stadium (home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, a Houston Astros affiliate) catalyzed redevelopment along Hay Street and the surrounding blocks. Adaptive reuse projects have converted former department stores and office buildings into mixed-use properties with ground-floor restaurant and retail and upper-story residential. The Market House, the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, and the Cape Fear Botanical Garden anchor a growing cultural and entertainment district. For investors, downtown Fayetteville offers adaptive reuse plays at entry points that are well below comparable properties in North Carolina's larger downtowns, with upside tied to continued public investment and rising foot traffic.
Cross Creek Mall area anchors the intersection of Skibo Road and US-401 (Morganton Road) and functions as the retail gravity center for a multi-county trade area. The mall itself and the surrounding out-parcels, lifestyle centers, and strip retail draw shoppers from Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson, Harnett, and Sampson counties. Restaurant pad sites and service-retail locations in this node command some of the highest rents in the market, and national brands actively target this area for market entry.
All American Freeway corridor (NC-210/All American Expressway) connects Fort Liberty to I-95 and carries heavy military and civilian commuter traffic. The commercial development along this corridor includes a mix of industrial properties, auto-oriented retail, and service businesses. Properties with frontage on the All American Freeway benefit from exceptional traffic counts and visibility, particularly at the interchange areas.
Spring Lake and the military gate areas offer a distinct submarket defined almost entirely by proximity to Fort Liberty. Spring Lake, the small municipality adjacent to the installation's southern gates, supports a concentrated cluster of military-service retail, multi-family housing, and convenience-oriented commercial. Occupancy in this submarket tracks closely with deployment cycles and PCS seasons, creating a predictable rhythm that experienced investors learn to underwrite around. Properties near the gate areas tend to trade at lower price points than Fayetteville proper but generate competitive cap rates because of the built-in demand from the installation.
Hope Mills, the incorporated town south of Fayetteville along US-401, has experienced steady residential growth and a corresponding increase in commercial demand. The Hope Mills Town Center area and the US-401 corridor support neighborhood retail, medical office, and family-oriented service tenants. Multi-family development in Hope Mills serves a mix of military families and civilian workforce tenants who commute to Fayetteville or Fort Liberty. For investors, Hope Mills offers lower entry points with the benefit of being within the broader Fayetteville metro economy.
I-295 (Fayetteville Outer Loop) interchange areas represent the newest commercial development frontier in the county. The completion of the Outer Loop created new access points on the western and southern edges of the city, and several interchange areas are now in various stages of commercial entitlement and development. Investors and developers who position early in these emerging nodes are betting on the same pattern that played out along outer loops in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Wilmington: improved access generates residential growth, which generates retail and service demand, which generates commercial value.
Transportation & Accessibility
Cumberland County's transportation infrastructure is one of its core competitive advantages for commercial real estate. I-95, the primary north-south interstate on the East Coast, passes through the eastern portion of the county and provides direct access to markets from Florida to Maine. I-295, the Fayetteville Outer Loop, circles the western and southern sides of the city and connects to I-95 at both its northern and southern termini, relieving congestion on the inner-city road network and opening new development corridors. US-401, a major state highway, connects Fayetteville to Raleigh to the north and Lumberton to the south.
Fayetteville Regional Airport (FAY) offers commercial air service through American Airlines with daily connections to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, providing business travelers with access to the national and global air network through CLT's hub. The airport also supports corporate and charter aviation and is positioned for potential service expansion as the metro grows. For businesses that need air access without the cost and congestion of a major hub airport, FAY provides a practical alternative.
CSX Transportation operates freight rail service through Cumberland County, supporting industrial tenants with bulk shipping needs and providing an alternative to over-the-road trucking for heavy or high-volume commodities. Rail-served industrial sites along the CSX corridor are a niche but meaningful segment of the county's industrial market, and availability of rail-accessible parcels is a differentiator for distribution and manufacturing tenants evaluating the market.
The internal road network, anchored by Bragg Boulevard, Skibo Road, Yadkin Road, Raeford Road, and the All American Freeway, provides efficient circulation within the metro. Commute times within Cumberland County remain manageable compared to larger North Carolina metros, which is a quality-of-life factor that supports both tenant retention and workforce recruitment for commercial tenants.
Tenant Representation in Fayetteville
Businesses searching for commercial space in Cumberland County face a market that is simultaneously straightforward and full of nuance. The military demand floor makes Fayetteville an attractive place to operate, but the specifics of site selection — which side of a corridor draws more military traffic, which shopping centers have co-tenancy protections that matter, which landlords will invest in tenant improvements — require local knowledge that search platforms alone cannot provide.
I work with tenants across property types to evaluate the Fayetteville market against their operational requirements. For defense contractors, that means identifying office space with the right combination of proximity to Fort Liberty, physical security characteristics, and lease flexibility to accommodate the ebb and flow of government contract cycles. For retailers, it means analyzing trade areas, traffic counts, and the demographic mix of military and civilian consumers in specific corridors. For medical practices, it means evaluating patient access patterns, visibility, and the build-out allowances that make a particular space financially viable.
Tenant representation in a military market also involves understanding how PCS cycles, deployment schedules, and BAH adjustments affect the commercial tenant's customer base. A restaurant opening near a gate area needs to plan around the seasonal rhythms of military life. A fitness studio on Skibo Road needs to understand how summer PCS season temporarily reshuffles the consumer base. These are the kinds of operational insights that come from working in and around military communities, and they can make the difference between a lease that performs and one that disappoints.
Investment Sales & Dispositions
For investors buying or selling commercial property in Cumberland County, I provide market-grounded underwriting support, comparable sales analysis, and access to a buyer network that includes both local military-market specialists and institutional investors who have identified Fayetteville as a target geography for yield-oriented capital deployment.
The investment sales landscape in Fayetteville has evolved meaningfully over the past several years. Institutional capital that previously overlooked military markets in favor of gateway cities and primary metros has been forced down the risk spectrum by compressed cap rates in those larger markets. Fayetteville, with its combination of income stability, favorable cap rates, and a demand driver that is effectively recession-proof, has attracted increasing attention from private equity funds, family offices, and 1031 exchange buyers looking for downleg properties with defensible income streams.
For sellers, I bring a marketing approach that positions Cumberland County assets in front of buyers who already understand the military market thesis. Many of the most successful dispositions in this market happen when a property is presented with underwriting that speaks the language military-market investors care about: BAH rate trends, installation population projections, PCS cycle occupancy data, and the capital improvement plans that the Department of Defense has committed to at Fort Liberty. I leverage my relationships across the North Carolina brokerage community and national listing platforms including LoopNet and CREXi to ensure competitive exposure and strong offers.
Multi-family assets in the Fort Liberty orbit remain among the most active transaction types in the county. Buyers seeking BAH-backed cash flow compete for well-located properties near gate areas, and sellers who present clean financials with documented military tenant occupancy histories tend to achieve premium pricing. I work with both sides of these transactions to structure deals that reflect the true value of military-adjacent demand.
Working with Sebastian in Cumberland County
Cumberland County is a market I know well and one that I believe is consistently undervalued relative to its fundamentals. The military demand floor, the I-95 logistics advantage, the affordability relative to Raleigh, and the ongoing public investment in downtown Fayetteville create a commercial real estate environment with both stability and upside that is difficult to find in a single market.
As a CCIM candidate with 133 five-star reviews and active involvement in both tenant representation and investment sales across Eastern North Carolina, I bring analytical rigor and local market knowledge to every engagement. Whether you are a defense contractor evaluating office space near Fort Liberty, a retailer considering a Skibo Road location, a multi-family investor underwriting a BAH-backed acquisition, or a developer positioning along the I-295 corridors, I can help you identify the right opportunity, negotiate terms that protect your position, and execute with confidence.
I also work with out-of-state investors who recognize the value in military markets but need local expertise to execute. From identifying off-market opportunities and coordinating due diligence to connecting you with trusted property managers and contractors who understand the rhythms of a military community, I serve as your local advisor in a market where that knowledge is the difference between a strong deal and a costly misstep.
If you are considering a commercial real estate transaction in Fayetteville or anywhere in Cumberland County, I am ready to help. Call me at (919) 797-5900, email sebastian@mullarkeycre.com, or book a call online to get started.