WILMINGTON — The corporate limits of Wilmington expanded by almost 20 acres Tuesday night, with the property’s 253-unit site plans scheduled to reach the Wilmington City Council next month.
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Council unanimously approved the annexation of 7725, 7729, 7731 and 7753 Alexander Road, despite staff’s recommendation of the request from Raleigh-based developer H.H. Hunt, be denied.
“We believe the project was just too intense for that location,” Assistant Planning Director Brian Chambers told council Tuesday.
H.H. Hunt is proposing to turn the property into a multi-family development with 253 units, 10% dedicated to workforce housing. It would be called Abberly Landing, located off Market Street, just outside city limits in Ogden.
If approved by council, it will be H.H. Hunt’s first project in Wilmington.
But council members were only considering the annexation of the land Tuesday, not the development plans. The Wilmington Planning Commission has already reviewed the plans and recommended approval in the MD-17 district (high-density multiple-dwelling residential).
The annexation will stand regardless of council’s decision on Abberley Landing.
Staff’s objections to the annexation were twofold: The property is only accessible from Alexander Road and H.H. Hunt’s development would triple daily trips on the road, which deposits onto Market Street. Also, the addition of the property on the utility system will require upgrades to the area’s lift station.
However, the narrative put forth by Amy Schaefer, an attorney with Lee Kaess (co-owned by NHC Senator Michael Lee) who represented the developer, portrayed a development that would improve the area and developers responsive to the surrounding community’s concerns.
Some community members agreed, including Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Natalie English.
“These are the kinds of projects we need,” she said, specifically mentioning how Wilmington lacks housing options for many of its employees.
For a period of at least 15 years, the development would provide 25 units of workforce housing, defined as housing affordable to households earning between a certain percentage of area median income. H.H. Hunt originally proposed to dedicate units to those earning between 80% and 120% of the area median income, so between $68,161 and $102,240 annually.
Logan Secord, a Wilmington resident and frequent speaker at local government meetings, told council he met with H.H. Hunt representatives requesting they expand Abberly Landing’s income eligibility to those earning between 60% and 80% AMI, so for households with incomes as low as $51,121. The developer obliged, allocating half of the units to the 60% AMI group.
“I was impressed with the very intentional, above-and-beyond effort that H.H. Hunt took to make this development sustainable,” Secord said.
According to Schaefer, the tax value of the property would be $40 million, if not more, with the development, bringing the city $220,000 to $320,000 in annual revenue.
Schaefer also said the development went through substantial revisions at the behest of nearby property owners, who had to sign off on the annexation request.
The developer presented its original plans, including 20 more units, to the county and city, who both essentially said it was “too much.”
Scheafer said they decided to pursue the city annexation due to the city’s standards around roads, mainly allowing them to be narrower than state standards, and its superior process around stormwater permitting. H.H. Hunt representative Tyler Womble said they were also attracted to the city’s affordable housing programs, though did not say if he had applied to any.
“It’s really a testament to the prioritization of affordable housing and putting those mechanisms in place to allow developers like H.H. Hunt to come forward and bring a project that allows some affordable housing,” council member Luke Waddell said.
Based on staff and community feedback, Schaefer said the site’s design has been reworked to save as many trees as possible and offer easier routes into the development for emergency vehicles. They also plan to remediate the soil on areas of the site where it’s contaminated.
Schaefer brought up some of the project’s engineers to elaborate further on the traffic and utility concerns.
One was Richard Collier, a civil engineer for the project who also serves on the Wilmington Planning Commission. Though the commission voted 5-1 to recommend approval of Abberly Landing, Collier recused himself from the matter.
Collier explained not only will the connection to Cape Fear Public Utility Authority infrastructure be at the developer’s expense, they have also discussed a cost-share agreement with the authority to improve the nearby lift station’s capacity, ultimately benefiting the entire service area.
“We know we have substantial water and pressure to handle the development as designed,” Collier said.
As for Alexander Road, there would be two entrances off it into Abberly Landing. Drivers can access the road, which acts as a collector street, through two entry points off Market Street.
Though staff were concerned with the 1,600 average daily trips that are expected to add to the road, the development team focused on the road’s ability to handle more capacity. According to North Carolina Department of Transportation standards, the road is operating at an A level of service because it is under capacity.
Alexander Road sees around 700 to 800 cars per day, which will increase to 2,400 if Abberly Landing is green lit. However, the road’s capacity is in the ballpark of 4,000 to 5,000 trips per day.
Because of the apparent available capacity of the road, council members said they were failing to see staff’s point of view in its denial recommendation.
“I don’t really see what the main issue is and why it wasn’t supported by staff,” council member Kevin Spears said, jokingly calling Alexander Road a “superstreet.”
He did question the ability of Market Street, now operating over capacity, to handle the extra cars, as it’s the only outlet for Abberly Landing residents. Schaefer said H.H. Hunt tried to negotiate access points behind the development but those efforts failed.
The developers said drivers exiting onto Market Street would only be able to turn right, further ensuring flow of traffic from the development. They described the conditions as the ideal scenario for development along Market Street — no new driveways, utilization of existing roads, and limited movements at access points.
Chambers continued to answer council’s questions with the same concern over tripling the amount of cars on Alexander Road, though he was bound to only discuss the merits of the annexation and not the overall project; it will back before council for a rezoning in January.
Waddell affirmed council would have “another bite at the apple” then.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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