Wilmington real estate company paves way to develop another Hampstead property
Developers are asking Pender County officials to rezone land which could lead to more development at the U.S. 17 and Groves Point Drive intersection in Hampstead.
Applicant Brian Nadeau submitted plans for 2.5 acres on the east side of road and close to the boundary of Surf City. Nadeau is a broker for Creative Commercial Properties, a real estate business with locations for sale or lease in the Wilmington region. There are no construction plans at the moment, but it could bring more retail or office space options for a future tenant.
"From what we see, across the street, there's a lot of service types," Nadeau told the StarNews. "Industry, retail, or something like that would be ideal for that area. You'll never know who will come along."
The Pender County Planning Board held a public hearing on Tuesday, June 6. Daniel Adams, planning and community development director, spoke about the application.
The land, which about the size of two football fields, is owned by Gregory and Mary Noland. It was previously owned by Mary's parents, Clifton and Emma Howard, who gave the area by Groves Point Drive to a nearby homeowners' association in exchange for access to U.S. 17.
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It's zoned as residential performance and by changing it to general business, Nadeau said it will give it the most appropriate designation since it right on the highway and nearby commercial businesses. Under a general business use, some of the listed commercial possibilities include retail trade, real estate and rental leasing, educational services, and upper-story residential places. With a special use permit, manufacturing, arts, entertainment, and recreation opportunities may be allowed too.
It's located south of the N.C. 210 and U.S. 17 intersection and near Tractor Supply Co., Auto Zone, Bojangles, and Lowe's Home Improvement.
Adams said the Pender County Planning Staff recommended approval of the zoning map amendment since it was consistent with a future land use map and several other policies.
The property in Hampstead is one of many under Creative Commercial Properties. Some of the others available for sale in Hampstead are 105 acres of land on Hoover Road; 18 acres of waterfront access on Kingfisher Lane; and more than 10 acres along U.S. 17 between Pow Mia Trail and Averys Road.
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The annual average daily traffic count for the area between N.C. 210 and Morris Drive is more than 45,000 vehicles.
Barbara Sutherland, a resident living on Groves Point Circle, said there was a lot of concerns about the rezoning request. Some of them included privacy and traffic impacting the subdivision.
Members of the planning board unanimously approved the request, since it was consistent with the county's land use plan. The request will now be sent to the board of commissioners for a meeting scheduled for Monday, July 10.
"We feel pretty good about it," Nadeau told the StarNews before the recent meeting. "We think it will be a great use for that area."
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Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington company paves way to develop Hampstead property on U.S. 17
