Former Brunswick County golf course to house planned interstate development

John Orona, Wilmington StarNews
·2 min read
As construction continues to expand throughout Brunswick County, a former Calabash golf course will become a housing development to meet the demand.
As construction continues to expand throughout Brunswick County, a former Calabash golf course will become a housing development to meet the demand.

A former golf course straddling the North and South Carolina border will soon be home to a more than 800-unit planned development.

The Farmstead Golf Links in Calabash closed down in late 2021 after two decades in business. Now plans have been approved to turn its 18 holes into 774 housing units.

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The project, the Coastal Club of the Carolinas, will bring 630 single family homes and 144 semi-attached units to 311 acres between Hickman Road and McLamb Road NE. The development will also span into South Carolina, with approximately 400 additional units planned across the border.

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Brunswick County Senior Planner Marc Pages said the project is a modification to a previously approved planned development that never got off the ground, aside from the golf course. Those initial designs were to include commercial space and about 500 housing units.

"Originally, there were a handful of lots recorded," he said. "But only the golf course, clubhouse and two homes were ever built out."

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Pages said the project will be similar in style to Leland's Waterford community, with interconnected waterways built throughout the development allowing kayak access. The design will help buttress the development's stormwater system, which has been overengineered to accommodate a 25-year storm event.

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As construction continues to expand throughout Brunswick County, a former Calabash golf course will become a housing development to meet the demand.
As construction continues to expand throughout Brunswick County, a former Calabash golf course will become a housing development to meet the demand.

When built out the project is expected to add at least 7,400 vehicle trips per 24-hour weekday volume to the western part of the county. Pages said with more of the county's development heading west, it's not shocking the course would be used to feed the housing demand.

"It could be its popularity has waned or the price of real estate going up has made it more attractive to sell it for development," he said.

Reporter John Orona can be reached at 910-343-2327 or jorona@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Brunswick golf course to become nearly 800-home planned development