NEW HANOVER COUNTY — A rezoning request for more than 20 acres has been submitted to New Hanover County with the hopes of developing a mixture of offices, retail, and “personal services” near the Pender County/New Hanover County line.
The request, made by Michael Nadeau on behalf of the property owners WPE Holdings, asks the county to allow the change from three different zoning districts to B-1.
The property in question was actually designated as a conditional use district back in 2006 according to the application and was going to consist of five 40,000-square-foot medical offices, however, the needs surrounding these uses have changed dramatically in the past several years.
“A dramatic market change has occurred over the last 12 years: the extraordinary consolidation of medical practices. Most small practices best suited to leasing a suite within a large facility are now gone. It is clear that the larger, consolidated practices that dominate the market today want stand-alone building customized to their marketing and patient needs,” the application states.
If approved, the new development of a B-1 district has the potential to offer needed services to patients at the Surgicenter and New Hanover Regional Medical Center North Campus, as well as Porters Neck and Scotts Hill residents, Nadeau said in the request.
County planning staff submitted their own review of the application and have determined that the request is consistent with the county’s 2016 Comprehensive Plan.
“Clustering office, commercial, and other services in this area east of the I-140 intersection could increase access to basic goods and services for residents in eastern New Hanover County and north of Scotts Hill. This could reduce the need to travel to the Porters Neck and Ogden areas for these services,” according to a staff report.
Staff is recommending the approval of the request and on May 6, the County Commissioners will vote on the request.
