BRUNSWICK COUNTY — A massive tract of land near the western border of Leland – and larger than the town itself – is on the market. The land could attract a wide range of commercial and residential development, according to the land’s managers and county officials.
The land, managed by the Molpus Woodlands Group, is 22 square miles, about half the size of Wilmington. Historically, the land has been a seedling nursery for industrial timber companies. But according to Mark Power, a director of real estate at Molpus who is helping to oversee the sale of the property, increasing growth in Brunswick County has made the property more attractive to new development.
“We think there’s a wide range of opportunities on this land,” Power said. “There’s been a lot of development in the area. With the top end being right at I-140, and the property essentially spanning between highway 17 and 74, there’s a lot of good access to the area.”
Power said that the tract could go to a single buyer, or it could be parceled out for different kinds of development. While it was early in the process, Power said he believes the northern part of the tract is ideal for mixed-use development, while the southern part of the tract – included large parts of the Green Swamp – offers possibilities for environmental conservation.
Mike Hardgett, planning director for Brunswick County, agreed with Power.
“We think it offers planned developers a full range of uses,” Hardgett said. “From residential to commercial, high tech companies. There are also attractive environmental and conservation opportunities as well.”
Residential growth in Brunswick County has been growing at a rapid pace, with housing sales breaking records through the summer. Hardgett said there was definitely potential for residential growth in the area, but that managing growth in the approximately 14,200-acre area would require long-term planning.
“A project of this size would be a multi-year project. We’d want to see carefully planned out development. Large projects like St. James Plantation, Compass Pointe and Brunswick Forest, we saw multi-year planning,” Hardgett said.
According to Hardgett, planning for the land use would not be part of Leland or another municipality, but as an unincorporated region of Brunswick County. Hargett said there was no official agreement, but that a sale was possible late this year or early in 2018.
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