BRUNSWICK COUNTY — A new development, Leland Commercial, will soon begin construction on a 123-townhome, mixed-use project off Highway 17.
At some point, the project will feature commercial buildings with highway frontage. First, Buster Development LLC will complete the project’s residential component, with construction set to begin between May and July.
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One mile west of Brunswick Forest’s entrance on Highway 17, Leland Commercial includes a total of 30 acres, with 11 acres reserved for future commercial development.
Plans
The development is outside of Leland’s municipal limits. In October 2018, Brunswick County approved a preliminary site plan for the mixed-use project. Steve Shuttleworth, a member of Buster Development — an LLC he said he created for the project — is managing the property’s development.
Shuttleworth said, for now, there’s no specific use planned for the commercial acreage.
“But it creates a good transition on Highway 17,” he said.
Construction on the 123-townhomes will begin in the next 60 to 90 days, Shuttleworth said, while he continues working on the site’s stormwater design. Townhomes will be available for sale, he said.
Though a Traffic Impact Analysis was not required for this project, Shuttleworth said he’s working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation on Highway 17 access improvements. A U-turn will be shifted further west down Highway 17, and eventually, some traffic on Carol Lynn Drive will be restricted, he said.
Wetlands
In 2008, the site’s previous owner, through a contractor, filled in nearly an acre of wetlands. In turn, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Division of Water Quality alerted the owner to the unauthorized land activities. Given the site’s background, further development required approval from the Army Corps. Approximately .3 acres of wetlands will be disturbed, site plans show, because of state road access requirements.
In December 2018, the Department of Environmental Quality issued the development a stormwater permit, and January 2019, Brunswick County its own stormwater permits to Buster Development.
The project has been underway for over two years, Shuttleworth said. Getting the site secured public utilities was a challenge, given the ongoing inter-municipal litigation.
“That stopped us for a while so they can all figure out what’s going on,” he said.
Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer H2GO will provide water and sewer service to the development, according to Brunswick County senior planner, Mark Pages.
When commercial development plans are cemented, Pages said the developer would be required to present preliminary plans before the county. “It’s a bubble plan,” Pages said, meaning the commercial portion of the development is conceptual.
Leland Commercial Site Plans by Johanna Ferebee on Scribd
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