Media Mention: Sam Franck Profiled in Greater Wilmington Business Journal

Real estate attorney Sam Franck is the subject of a feature profile in the April 2026 issue of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal.

The article, “Attorney Gets the Law of the Land,” offers an in-depth look at Sam’s career representing developers and high-profile projects across New Hanover County and beyond.

Writer Cece Nunn explores how Sam, who leads Ward and Smith’s Real Estate Section, has spent two decades working on some of the area’s most significant development projects, including Project Grace in downtown Wilmington, Proximity Carolina Beach, and the New Hanover County Government Center.

Sam is candid about the personal rewards of the work. “I would never claim my clients’ achievements. If I do my job well, I play a small part,” he said. “That said, it is absolutely gratifying to drive by a development that I’ve been a part of, or a building that I’ve been a part of, and feel a connection to that.”

Much of the profile focuses on the tension inherent in development work. “I think the biggest challenge in what I do is helping to bridge the gap between those who are choosing to invest their resources into the positive growth of our community and the natural and instinctive resistance to change from those that live or work somewhere nearby and would prefer to keep things exactly the way that they are.”

The article also touches on Sam’s perspective on Wilmington’s growth and housing challenges, pushing back on conventional thinking. “Quite the contrary — if we build more small homes, more closely located to existing infrastructure … and the like — that is far more effective than sprawl as a mechanism to accommodate a growing population,” he said.

Sam credits Ward and Smith with helping him build a practice that stays intellectually engaging. “It’s kept my practice dynamic and so kind of feeds the intellectual curiosity bug to have new angles to pursue from year to year, without being forced into a role where you’re just making the same widget time and again.”

Read the full profile in the April 2026 issue of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal or online at wilmingtonbiz.com.