NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Though the volume of development across New Hanover County in 2025 is largely on par with prior years, data shows a slight uptick in residential and an increase in commercial.
Port City Daily took a look at the permitting data from 2025 and prior years to analyze development trends in the county. The numbers show development is keeping pace with prior years, though in different forms.
The county, which issues construction permits for its approved projects and those within its municipalities, permitted 1,008 residential buildings last year resulting in 2,717 units. Of those units, more than half are apartments, all of which were approved for construction within the City of Wilmington.
More than 800 single-family homes were permitted county-wide, 357 in the unincorporated county and 429 in the city; 196 townhome units were permitted, the majority in the county, along with 25 duplex units, with the majority in the city. Additionally, 80 additional dwelling units were permitted, 63 of them in the city. Both the city and county have loosened restrictions on ADUs in recent years, resulting in an increase in ADU permits.
2025 was the first year New Hanover County planning staff started tracking unit counts for its permits, thus a unit-to-unit comparison between prior years isn’t apparent.
However, building permits — which don’t account for the number of units within a building — increased by just eight from 2024 to 2025. They decreased from 1,163 to 1,008 permits from 2023 to 2025, indicating development may be shifting to denser housing with more units in fewer buildings.
As for commercial permitting, new construction permits were in line with previous years at 79 permits in 2025, though the total permits issued were 527. These permits include 16 additions, 141 repairs or upfits and 291 alterations. Compared to 2023, total permits were 413, with almost the same amount of new permits (78), indicating an uptick in the reuse of commercial properties in recent years.
All in all, the county issued a total of 3,124 construction permits across Wilmington, Carolina Beach and the unincorporated county last year, compared to 2,950 issued in 2024.
However, the county brought in slightly less in permitting fees, $3.87 million this year, compared to last year’s nearly $3.9 million, possible by the differing permit fees by project.
While most development activity occurs by-right — meaning the use is allowed within the property’s zoning district, without approval from the municipality’s elected body — some of the permits were issued after rezonings.
In 2025, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners reviewed 18 rezoning requests and six special-use permits in the unincorporated county. Both were the same amount received in 2021, though all 2021 rezonings and special-use permits were approved. Whereas in 2025, 89% of the rezonings were approved and only a third of special use permits.
Among last year’s largest rezonings were 108 acres on Blue Clay Road without site plans attached, 85 townhomes as part of the McQuillan Pines development on Carolina Beach Road, the 67-home Heron Cove subdivision, and the 12 townhomes and Sheetz gas station planned for Alexander Road. The board also heard special-use permit applications for the controversial Tarin Woods additional dwelling allowance and Bayshore Townhomes, both of which were denied.
The developers behind the Bayshore sued the county over its denial, accusing the board of commissioners of failing to remain impartial. The commissioners reasoned the project would create unsafe transportation conditions and not be in harmony with the surrounding area.
In the City of Wilmington, city council heard and approved four general rezonings, 10 conditional district rezonings and two special-use permits.
Among those were a 120-unit workforce housing development at 2929 Market Street, 65 townhomes on Covil Avenue and a 79-unit townhome development on Kerr Avenue.
Carolina Beach saw more modest activity, with 38 single-family homes permitted and 18 townhomes; it also passed two new commercial projects, including the 140-room Embassy Suites planned for Carolina Beach Avenue North.
Both the city and county reviewed more special use permits than in previous years, with both entities exploring doing away with them at some point in 2025. Because special-use permits require strict adherence to the quasi-judicial process that limits public speakers to those directly affected or providing expert testimony, the process has not been popular among community members.
The county commissioners ultimately voted to no longer require a SUP for an additional dwelling allowance, used to increase the density beyond what’s normally allowed on a parcel, but keep it for other land uses. The city council members did a more drastic maneuver, voting unanimously to pare down SUP uses from 22 to three.
The city also recently amended its land code to allow for more duplexes to be constructed in the R-3 residential district. The amendment affects nearly 850 properties concentrated downtown, opening up the possibility for more units on already developed parcels in the city.
As for the county, it is closing in on its comprehensive plan update, which in its current form places higher emphasis on environmental conservation and public input. While its priority of providing enough housing to its growing population included in the 2016 plan has shifted, it does advocate for master planning for the last remaining large parcels in the county, concentrated in the northern part of the county.
At the commissioners’ agenda review meeting on Jan. 29, the board informed planning staff they would not be voting on the comprehensive plan at the next commissioners’ meeting as planned.
“This is a massive document with so much in it and my thought — obviously I defer to the rest of the board — but my opinion is that I would like a bit more time to contemplate this, socialize it, make sure that there aren’t unintended consequences that are different than what we’ve articulated as our policy preferences, meet with staff,” Commissioner Dane Scalise said.
Staff will still make the presentation of the plan and hold a public hearing on it at the next commissioner meeting on Feb. 16.
[Ed. Note: A previous version of this article stated the Bayshore denial was reversed by commissioners; it was not, and litigation is still pending. PCD regrets the error.]
Tips or comments? Reach out to journalist Brenna Flanagan here.
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