PENDER COUNTY — Multiple developments are on the docket slated for the fast-growing neighboring county to the north of Wilmington.
Pender County Technical Review Committee will hear 10 cases at its meeting on Thursday, Aug. 1; it takes place at 1 p.m. in the Pender County Public Assembly Room.
The TRC is one of the first stops in the planning process so multiple county and state departments — planning, zoning, fire, transportation — can come together to properly assess developer plans. This happens before a public hearing and before planning board and final commissioner approval, if projects are not considered by-right.
Five projects the TRC will look at this week include more residential developments posed for the area. One is phase two of a 2,600-home neighborhood almost 10 years in the making in Rocky Point.
Another is a brand new 228 single-family home complex headed toward near Poplar Grove Plantation.
Plus, Hawthorne at Headwaters is coming back around, requesting its original build-out of 300 units, both apartments and single-family homes.
Below is a look ahead at what officials will consider; all plans can be accessed here.
Lanes Ferry Landing Phase 2
As part of a 987-acre master plan to bring 2,695 homes to Rocky Point, phase two of Lanes Ferry Landing will be heard by the county’s TRC this week. It was approved almost a decade ago, on June 2, 2015.
Put forth by River Rock Farm LLC, the project is located off Highway 210, near the Northeast Cape Fear River. The applicant’s name is Christian Trask Jr., who has owned the land since 2008.
The developer is proposing to build a new mixed-use community, to include a marina, commercial space and a new Pender County school.
This phase of the project takes up 319 acres, with 191 acres of developable land. The goal is to bring 850 single-family homes in phase two, with a max height restriction of 35 feet. Lot sizes are scaled to be roughly 3,500 square feet — or 0.08 acres — and 5-foot setbacks all around.
With a gated access off Moore Town Road, the landing is located in a 100-year flood zone, consisting of 53 acres of wetlands, some of which, according to site plans developed by Paramount Engineering, look to be preserved. The United States Army Corp of Engineers must approve it as well.
The plans show six stormwater ponds, compliant with the county’s UDO. It notes drainage for a 10-year stormwater event without flooding.
Water will be provided by Pender County Utilities and wastewater from an onsite wastewater plant from phase one, to be owned and operated by the homeowners association. Road will be built to comply with North Carolina Department of Transportation’s subdivision minimums.
There will be 43 acres of open space (requirement is 25.50 acres), with recreational units also will be onsite.
Sweetgrass Abbey Preserve
Just across the New Hanover County border, another project is planned near the Poplar Grove Plantation: a 228-single-family gated-home community by South Carolina-based Clayton Properties Group Inc.
It will be located off North Scotts Hill Loop, roughly a mile east of Highway 210. Owned by the Foy Family Limited Partnership, 85 of the 115 acres will be developed in the vicinity of the former Humble Roots Farm, near Oakvale, Foy Plantation, and Scottsdale communities.
Development will take place in phases: one will be 79 lots, two will include 78 lots and three, 71.
Site plans by CLD Engineering show 2.91 acres of wetlands. Some tracts are in FEMA flood zones — both 100- and 500-year, the latter posing minimal risk. The development backs up to Abbey Nature Preserve, with a 20-foot buffer.
There will be 46 acres of open space, with 3.4 to be active and connecting to the preserve. Lot sizes will be 2 acres, with 0.03 acres of open space and a building height maximum of 35 feet. Setbacks are 5 feet on the sides of the homes, 15 feet in the front and corner, and 12.5 feet in the rear.
Plans show 40% of the project area will be common space, including boat storage.
Hawthorne at Headwaters
Originally proposed to bring 300 units to the area — and much to neighbors’ dismay and concerns by officials about a lack of schools — Hawthorne at Headwaters was approved by the Pender County Board of Adjustments to be scaled down in 2021. By-right, 174 units were allowed to be built as apartments, along with commercial property. As well, there were 48 approved family residences.
Phase one of the approved apartments are under construction.
This week the project is coming back before the Pender County TRC to request a conditional rezoning request for 84 more multi-family units to be added onto its apartment plans.
This will bring the total project back to its original request, topping out at 307 total units.
The project is located along Highway 17, between Hughes Road and Deerfield Drive.
The application notes the planning board originally denied the 294 units due to inconsistencies in needed infrastructure, particularly with the school system. There was concern of overcrowding in Pender County schools; however, since 2021, when it was first brought forth, plans have changed. Pender County voters approved a bond referendum in 2022, to bring a new K-8 school to the district, now under construction.
The owner withdrew the application to go before commissioners at the time to move forward by-right. However, the goal now is to put it all under the same zoning and ownership, all constructed simultaneously. The property is currently zoned planned development, with the parcel at the front being regional mixed-use classification and its back parcel located in coastal residential. Conditional rezoning will bring it all under one.
According to the application, filed by Equitas Law Partners LLC, on behalf of the Greensboro developers:
“The proposal unifies the apartment development with the single family homes located further east on the site so the apartment development and single-family homes development will be viewed as one project.”
It will be a rental community, both with shared amenities. The acreage of the total site area is 42.26, with around 22 acres making up the multi-family units, 18 acres for single-family and 3 acres of commercial space; 9 acres will be open space.
There will be 13, three-story apartment buildings, around 50 feet in height. Commercial units cap out at 25 feet, with configuration to be determined.
About 431 parking spaces will be provided for the 258-unit apartments and one parking place per 225 square feet of commercial space.
Buffalino Mixed Use
A rezoning to bring a new complex by CKBuff Enterprises LLC is being proposed. The group wants to scale 240 multi-family units and a commercial space in the Topsail Township near Highway 210.
It is asking for a conditional rezoning, and changing from residential development to proposed development.
The project will take up 20 acres, with 10 planned apartment buildings, consisting of 24 units each. There will be 427 parking spaces provided. Around 7.2 acres is appropriated for open space, with a dog park, pickleball court and barbecue area included.
A one-story, 20-foot commercial space measuring 12,500 square feet is also in the works. Site plans done by Paramount Engineering indicate a drive-thru coffee shop.
The project buildout is devised as one single phase. Parcels are surround by some wetlands, but the plans indicate it’s located in a 500-year FEMA flood zone, with minimal flood risk.
Main and secondary entrances are from Highway 210, with a traffic impact analysis currently underway. Though trip generation as of press indicates 1,300 trips for the apartment complex and 2,000 for the coffee shop and shopping complex.
Sloop Point Partners LLC Project
In Topsail Township, along the southern edge of Virginia Creek, Sloop Point Partners LLC — owned by the Cameron Company — is looking to develop 53 of 61 acres.
Stroud Engineering site plans show 99 single-family dwelling units, measuring 0.3 acres, at the presumed address of 1911 Sloop Point Road. It’s allowed by-right but planning board will still have to see proposed plans.
There will be 14 acres of open space on the project and the project will include clearing, grading, plus roadway, utility, and drainage improvements to support the detached homes.
A traffic impact analysis is not proposed, though plans show traffic includes 77 additional trips in morning and 99 in the evening.
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