Once dormant, this Brunswick development could become an 'active adult community'
Liberty Senior Living has submitted plans to revive part of an existing development, previously abandoned after the housing market crash.
The plans for Inspire at The Preserve are for an “active adult community,” that will be restricted to those 55 and older. The development will be constructed on land that was destined to be part of original development, The Preserve at Oak Island.
While the planning board voted to recommend the Oak Island Town Council deny the site plan approval, the council will make a decision on whether to approve or deny Liberty’s proposal at an upcoming meeting.
The Preserve at Oak Island was initially proposed as a condo development with 246 units in six buildings, and after the housing market crash in 2008, only three buildings with 134 units were completed. A shell building was in progress, but after development halted on the project for a number of years, that building was eventually razed.
In 2014, the initial plans for The Preserve were modified to permit the construction of 50 cottage units, in addition to the initial building one, which had yet to be constructed.
Liberty Senior Living acquired the property in November 2022 and submitted a proposed site plan to the town of Oak Island earlier this year. The plans from Liberty Senior Living proposed a 12-unit apartment building in the original space designated for building one and 50 cottage units, which were designated in the approved modified plan.
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The plans were considered at the Oak Island Planning Board’s regular meeting in July, and after hearing from concerned residents in The Preserve, the planning board recommended representatives from Liberty Senior Living sit down with residents in The Preserve to address their concerns before coming back to the planning board at its meeting in August.
During the planning board’s regular meeting on Aug. 17, a number of residents from The Preserve addressed the board, and while they said they appreciated Liberty sitting down with them and believed they were heard, they still had concerns, which ranged from loss of the community’s wetlands to a disruption to the current residents’ way of life. One property owner raised a concern about having rental units mixed with the condos.
Following the conversation, Liberty made several changes to the plan, including proposed pickleball courts, increasing parking at the neighborhood’s clubhouse, an additional dumpster site, adding more screening and berms, and using dark-sky compliant lighting.
During the planning board meeting on Aug. 17, Oak Island planning director Matt Kirkland said the plan met all ordinance requirements and recommended approval, but planning board chairman Dara Royal disagreed, saying the location of the cottages did not meet the approved modifications due to their location.
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This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Oak Island to decide on Liberty Senior Living plans
