After $11 million land purchase, developer proposes housing subdivision for Brunswick town

Jamey Cross, Wilmington StarNews
·2 min read
Stanley Martin Homes submitted site plans for The Tides, a 651-home subdivision proposed in the town of Ocean Isle Beach.
Stanley Martin Homes submitted site plans for The Tides, a 651-home subdivision proposed in the town of Ocean Isle Beach.

Ocean Isle Beach leaders are considering a proposed planned development that would bring hundreds of homes to the growing town.

Stanley Martin Homes submitted plans for The Tides, a proposed 651-home subdivision on 239 acres within the town of Ocean Isle Beach. According to preliminary plans, 517 of the units are proposed to be traditional, single family lots, with the remaining 134 proposed units as duplex villas.

The subdivision is proposed along Old Georgetown Road at the intersection with Ocean Isle Beach Road.

Plans show the proposed density for the development is 2.7 units per acre. In the town's C-3 (commercial highway) zoning district, the maximum dwelling units per acre is 8.2. The plans also indicate 43.6 acres will be reserved as green space, meeting the town's requirement for 15% green space.

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Norris & Tunstall Consulting Engineers, a civil engineering and design firm based in Wilmington and Brunswick County, designed the preliminary site plan.

Stanley Martin Homes, a national real estate developer, submitted the plans for the subdivision. The developer purchased the land from the town in 2022 for $11 million.

Ocean Isle Beach Mayor Debbie Smith was the listing agent for the sale and helped broker the deal but said neither her nor her real estate company, Sloane Realty, received commission from the sale.

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The Ocean Isle Beach Board of Commissioners reviewed the proposal earlier this summer before sending the request back to the Ocean Isle Beach Planning Board for further review.

The land currently is forested and vacant, and will require clearcutting for this proposed construction. According to the proposed site plans, 18.5 acres of the land has been identified as wetlands.

Members of both boards have expressed concerns about the potential added traffic from such a large development, as well as stormwater management and the proposed development's proximity to Ocean Ridge.

Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Ocean Isle Beach considers housing development The Tides