LELAND — Following ongoing discussions with TRC Leland 2 LLC since 2018, the Town of Leland has agreed to bear the cost of necessary road improvements around Leland Corners.
The Charleston-based developer is eyeing a 4.68-acre plot off U.S. Highway 17 and plans to subdivide the land into four retail outlets. Triggered by the rapidly growing county population — one of the fastest in the state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — development is ballooning along this stretch of the highway in Brunswick County.
Wilmington Urban Area Planning Organization (WMPO) and the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) conducted a traffic impact analysis (TIA) in November 2020 and found safety modifications would need to be made to surrounding roadways, including Ocean Gate Plaza, Gateway Boulevard and New Pointe Boulevard. The TIA calls for a reconfiguration of traffic flow before Leland Corners opens.
In January 2021, WMPO and NCDOT recommended the developer incorporate a three-way stop coming off U.S. 17, as well as a southbound left turn lane with a concrete median and new asphalt pavement.
Concerns from council members over traffic congestion at what is becoming an increasingly busier intersection prompted the town to make additional safety improvements, beyond what was initially proposed by the TIA.
The town prefers an alternative solution — a single-lane teardrop roundabout. It has agreed to bear the costs of design, construction, pavement, concrete curbs, landscaping and infrastructure to promote the development. The price tag is yet to be determined, though the town will use money from its general fund; TRC Leland 2 will pay the town $94,554 to assist.
“TRC Leland 2 is responsible for the cost of the left turn lane as provided by the TIA for the benefit of Leland Corners,” economic and community development director Gary Vidmar said.
The roundabout will provide a safer, more aesthetically pleasing entrance to Leland Corners and the surrounding retail areas, Vidmar added. It will accommodate more vehicular traffic in the coming years as development continues and the population continues to grow at a rate of roughly 6% annually.
Leland Corners already has three tenants signed on: fast-food restaurant Cook Out, Take 5 Oil Change and the convenience store 7-Eleven.
The property, totaling four parcels, was voluntarily annexed into town limits in November 2020. The parent company of Lidl grocery stores bought the property in June 2016 for $1.3 million. It has remained vacant since Lidl backed out of its proposed project roughly four years ago, according to Vidmar, who has been working with Twin Rivers on an economic development agreement for over a year.
Leland Corners will increase the town’s property tax base by about $5.1 million and increase its ad valorem property tax revenue by $12,851 annually by the end of fiscal year 2023-2024.
The new commercial center will sit west of the sprawling 63-acre Leland Town Center, owned by Fayetteville developer C&S. The center is being built in phases — one has already welcomed Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Firehouse Subs, AT&T and Dental Care. Phase two will include a 10,300-square-foot hotel, one big-box commercial store, restaurants and a 13-building apartment complex totaling 312 units. More than 50 acres of land are still available, and Leland Town Center will contain approximately 250,000 square feet of commercial space upon completion.
A public hearing for the economic development agreement between the Town of Leland and TRC Leland 2, LLC. will be held Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Leland Town Council meeting.
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