NEW HANOVER COUNTY — An area of the region experiencing recent growth could become home to a 27.55-acre mixed-use development if a rezoning is passed.
READ MORE: New commercial site with restaurant, retail coming to Castle Hayne Road
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BDLCT, LLC — an affiliate of River Bluffs Development Corporation — submitted to the county site plans created by Norris & Tunstall with a request for a rezoning for Moore’s Crossing Master Planned Development. It also asks to remove property from the Special Highway Overlay District (SHOD).
A community meeting is a required step in the process before the planning board and commissioners take up a vote. The meeting is planned for Tuesday, July 30, 5:30 p.m. at St. James AME Church, 3425 Castle Hayne Road.
The developer is asking to reclassify the area from R-20 low-density residential to PD, planned development, to see the development through. PD would allow 17 units per acre and encourages a “greater mix of land uses within the same development,” according to the county’s UDO. This would include efficient land use for smaller street networks, providing pedestrian connections and public right-of-way, as well as promoting patterns that take into account nearby neighborhoods.
The development will not be a continuation of nearby River Bluffs, according to John Lennon, director of operations for River Bluffs Development Corp.
Located at the intersection of Castle Hayne Road and Highway I-140, plans show a standalone commercial and residential complex. It would require the land to be removed from SHOD, which works to “protect and preserve the natural scenic beauty along designated major access corridors and specified principal arterials.”
The complex includes 7.75 acres of retail, 10.23 acres of commercial and grocery, and 8.24 acres for a 120-unit multi-family complex, with one-, two- and three-bedroom options. The complex will not exceed 50 feet in height.
Lennon said there are no current partnerships in place for the retail and commercial aspects but will follow what the county’s UDO allows in the zoning.
The development would be located on land that North Carolina’s Coastal Area Management Act classifies as a wetland resource protection area. The county’s planned development zoning takes environmental sensitivity into account, with designs in these areas respective of natural features and conservation. This could include integration of open or civic spaces and amenities, the UDO notes.
If the rezoning is passed, it would be at least the fourth residential development in the area approved by commissioners in recent months. Roughly 3 miles away, workforce housing projects have been greenlit — a 68-unit senior project under construction and a 128-unit apartment complex from Rob Campbell of nonprofit New H.O.P.E. CDC.
Commissioners also passed Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity’s 7.9-acre rezoning on 1728 Rockhill Road, located a little more than a mile away from the planned mixed-use development. The nonprofit is building 24 affordable homes.
In December, commissioner Rob Zapple told the board upon approval of Habitat’s development and a commercial project for 18,000 feet of flex space in the area: “We’ve got seven subdivisions by my count that are under construction within a 1-mile radius there, on a road that we know is already over capacity.”
Some area residents complained at the time about increased congestion and flooding, noise pollution, and environmental degradation. These same issues were echoed by residents who spoke out against the 128-unit complex Campbell put forth earlier this year.
Site access to the proposed 27-acre mixed-use development from BDLCT would be allowed from Castle Hayne Road, as well as nearby Chair Road.
“The roadway improvements required by the Department of Transportation (after review of the traffic impact analysis completed for the proposed project) are based on such a mixture of uses,” Lennon wrote in an email to PCD.
Lennon said price ranges for the residences have not been determined yet. Stacker Media estimates Castle Hayne has the 10th-fastest growing residential values in the state, as reported by StarNews last year.
BDLCT’s River Bluffs — permitted to build 742 residences, but has around 450 currently — consists of a multitude of townhomes and single-family residences, in the high $200,000s to $600,000 or more.
Lennon said on Thursday night developers met with nearby Rockhill Association; the neighborhood consists of a diverse group, some of whom are elderly residents and people living on a fixed income.
The July 30 community meeting is open to everyone who wants to learn more about the project and ask questions. As well, questions can be directed to Lennon by calling (910) 675-3440 or emailing john@riverbluffsliving.com.
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