Growing again: Farmland in Castle Hayne could get 200 townhomes. Here's what to know
New Hanover County leaders have given one Wilmington developer the green light to move forward with up to 237 townhomes in the county’s growing northern end.
This week, New Hanover County’s board of commissioners unanimously approved rezoning more than 23 acres on Blue Clay Road, just south of Interstate 140, for denser construction. Developer Cape Fear Four LLC is behind the project with plans to bring townhomes to an area dominated by single-family subdivisions and farmland. The limited liability company is part of established Wilmington real estate firm Cape Fear Commercial.
The company has worked on several multifamily residential projects in the Cape Fear area, including the Headwaters at Autumn Hall and River Lights Lofts. They're close to breaking ground on a major mixed-use project in Carolina Beach and are developing New Hanover County's new government center.
More:How Castle Hayne has evolved from dirt roads to $1 million homes
More:Powering up: Why the nuclear company founded by Bill Gates is coming to Wilmington
The developers are under contract to buy the land, which is located in the 3500 block of Blue Clay Road, later this year, according to Mike Brown, a senior vice president with Cape Fear Commercial. The land was last rezoned in 2006 as part of the Blue Clay Farms planned development, but the single-family neighborhood planned for the area never came to fruition.
The planned development zoning allowed up to 59 homes on the site – a maximum density of 2.5 per acre – while the newly approved zoning allows 10 units per acre or a maximum of 237 townhomes on the site.
In their application, developers say the lower density zoning is “no longer the highest and best use of the property” and doesn’t meet “current market demand.” Brown also told the board of commissioners he believes the planned townhomes will help diversify the area’s housing stock.
“This will promote accessibility to housing for those residents who desire an alternative to the traditional single-family residential product type,” he said.
Developers applied for a straight land rezoning. That means they aren't required to provide site plans or a unit count during the rezoning process. Local leaders also can’t put specific conditions on the project like they could during a conditional rezoning process.
If developed to maximum density, the project could generate approximately 117 additional trips during peak morning hours and 163 more trips during peak evening hours compared to the previous zoning. Denser development could also produce an increase of 39 more students for surrounding schools, according to a county staff report.
No members of the public attended Monday’s board of commissioners meeting in support or opposition of the project.
The development will be located near the county’s developing Blue Clay Business Park and Cape Fear Community College’s northern campus. In recent years, the county’s northern end has seen increasing growth as New Hanover’s population has climbed and water and sewer infrastructure has become more accessible for developers in the area.
Reporter Emma Dill can be reached at edill@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Castle Hayne farmland could get new townhomes with rezoning
