LELAND — A number of new restaurants and retail stores have set their sights on Leland as the town continues to experience unprecedented growth. Economic and Community Development Director Gary Vidmar offered an update on the economic development happening in Leland during the town’s Planning Board meeting – and there is no shortage of new development.
In Leland Town Center a new Aldi grocery store is under construction and is nearing completion, however, the roads that are required to be completed in order for the store to open are far from complete, Vidmar said.
In an effort to hopefully speed things along, Vidmar said he was meeting with representatives from Aldi, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and the contractor to allow Aldi to open before the road was 100 percent complete, however, NCDOT did not approve of this.
“We held a meeting with District 3 NCDOT representatives yesterday and they explained to us the road improvements that must be completed before ALDI will be permitted to open for business. These road improvements are the Phase I requirements that are part of the Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) prepared for the Leland Town Center project that was approved by the NCDOT in 2015,” Vidmar said.
Vidmar is not sure at this time when the store is expected to open.
Panera Bread Company has also announced its intention to open a location in Leland.
“Panera, we’ve been told is moving into one of the two new retail buildings in front of Waterford, at the endcap next to the new physical therapies business,” Vidmar said.
Panera is not the only new thing happening in the Waterford community.
“In August, Town Council approved the rezoning of an 8.55-acre parcel in Waterford Commercial Village from Commercial Business C-2 to Multifamily M-F to provide for the construction of a 120-unit luxury apartment community,” according to the economic report.
The developer of Leland Town Center, Twin Rivers, announced it had secured a contract with Chick-fil-A to lease on of the parcels in the development.
Harrington Village, a 19-acre development that will house 300 luxury apartments and roughly 30,000 square-feet of retail/commercial space is expected to be ready for occupancy summer 2018.
“Harrington is coming along nicely, you will notice we’ve gone vertical on several buildings. Two of the buildings out front are up to the third floor. The clubhouse is nearing completion … and I believe there are three other apartment buildings that in various stages of construction,” Vidmar said.
A project to build 20 three-bedroom townhouses at 480 Village Road was submitted to the Technical Review Committee in July and is still being planned.
“Construction is underway on three retail buildings in front of Walmart on Hwy. 17. Dubbed Westgate Marketplace, this 31,300-square-foot retail center is already more than 50% leased with the announcement of its first group of tenants which includes Petsense, Cricket Wireless, Miyabi Junior Express Japanese Hibachi Restaurant, Complete Coastal Dentistry, Charlie Graingers, and Ganey, Byrd & Dunn Insurance Group. These tenants are expected to open in the fall,” according to Vidmar’s presentation documents.
As Leland and Brunswick County continue to grow Port City Daily will continue to provide updates on new development in the Cape Fear area
Know of any new developments happening in Leland? Send tips and story ideas to PDC@localvoicemedia.com.
