WILMINGTON — A little more than 2 acres of land at a growing corridor near the Target shopping center could become home to more apartment units, as a rezoning goes before the Wilmington Planning Commission next week.
READ MORE: Royal Farms location slowed down by $110K in tree removal fines
The applicant, Wallick Asset Management LLC, is behind the rezoning request for property owners James and Shirley Harrell. The goal is to change the zoning from R-10, medium density single-dwelling, to MD-17, high density multiple-dwelling, to build a senior housing development called Onyx Place, open to ages 55 and up.
Plans show one four-story building consisting of 28 one-bedroom units (665 square feet each) and 20 two-bedrooms (905 square feet each). Some of the units will include bathrooms built with accessibility in mind, including removable seats in tubs and roll-in showers. Two units will have audio- and visual-impaired accommodations and some doors will be built wider for wheelchair access.
Added amenities encompass a fitness facility, computer center, laundry room, multi-purpose room, as well as multiple indoor and outdoor seating areas with a gazebo.
Wallick Asset Management is a firm out of Ohio that specializes in affordable and workforce housing and senior living communities in the Midwest. Its application points to the increased retiree population in New Hanover County, which has experienced 31.36% growth since 2000 , according to the U.S. Census.
“This population growth has put significant strain on the existing housing stock and has driven housing costs higher and higher over time,” the firm wrote in the application. “The result of this increased cost of living is a severe shortage of affordable housing units. According to a UNC-Greensboro study on the affordable housing in New Hanover County, 63.6% of surveyed respondents reported to worrying about spending too much of their income on housing costs.”
The development will be accessible from a driveway on Marjoram Way, with newly installed sidewalks providing pedestrian access to New Centre Drive as well.
Single-family residences, as well as apartments and townhomes, surround the property already. According to its project application, the current zoning allows around four units per acre; MD-17 accounts for 17 units per acre. The development is asking for 22; however, density can be increased to 36 units per acre as long as 10% of the project is dedicated to workforce housing rents for at least 15 years. The development will be fully affordable for seniors.
The group is applying to the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which incentivizes developers to build affordable housing by offering a 10-year tax credit. It is also seeking loans from the state’s Workforce Housing Loan Program Rental Production Program.
“These funds are needed for project viability and were not awarded to any project in New Hanover County last tax credit funding cycle in 2024,” the management firm said in its application.
The firm further explained that New Hanover County received only two new construction tax credit awards over the last three years — one is for another Kerr Avenue project, Avenue Flats. The applicant said these credits cover 116 units.
“To put that into context, Henderson County, with roughly half the population of New Hanover County, has seen 156 new construction units awarded in the same timeframe,” the application indicates. “Onyx Place is the only project submitted to NCHFA in the 2025 allocation round to achieve a full score. Should this project not move forward, New Hanover County runs the risk of not receiving an award in this year’s round; yet again missing out on critical resources in the fight for housing affordability.”
The applicant has submitted $98,000 in gap financing from the city, which would have to be approved by council.
The project plan includes 48 off-street parking spaces, which is more than what’s required of workforce and senior developments, reduced to 0.5-per-unit ratio; it will have eight handicap spaces. A local WAVE transit station is also located within walking distance — roughly a half-mile away.
At build-out, Onyx Place is expected to bring minimal traffic impacts, with 22 daytime and 30 nighttime trips added per day, according to the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation. It also will not burden the area schools, the management firm surmises, and it anticipates the project will allow some seniors to downsize from homes already in the county, opening up more stock.
A community meeting was held in February, with only one person in attendance to discuss parking, security, tax credit timeline, neighbors being allowed to use the multipurpose room and more. Staff said no concerns were put forth.
Public hearing signs have been posted in the vicinity to notify area residents of the April 2 planning commission hearing. Letters were also mailed; depending on the outcome of the hearing, the project will go before city council on May 2.
City staff is recommending approval with conditions, as the project complies with the land development code, is compatible with its surroundings of Abbotts Run, Holton Place and Cornerstone apartments, and will provide a mix of densities on infill development.
Suggested conditions from staff include:
- Site plan and elevations should be submitted to city council on May 6 and must go through TRC prior to construction release.
- Limiting the proposal to 48 units, with 12 provided at 30% of the area median income (AMI), eight at the 50% AMI, 14 at 60% AMI, and 14 at 80% AMI, as determined annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a period of no less than 30 years
- The project submits an annual report to the city notating income verification and lease terms on the affordable housing units
- Any significant specimen trees located outside of the building footprint and essential site improvements must be protected and retained
Trees have been a point of contention on this plat of land in the last year-and-a-half. The city submitted a zoning violation due to the removal of 38 trees, three of which were considered significant, without a permit on the property. Royal Farms, a gas station brand considering bringing multiple stores to Wilmington, was eyeing the land at the corner of Marjoram Way and New Center Drive and had begun going through staff meetings to prepare a rezoning application. However, it ran into a hiccup over tree mitigation in the fall 2023 and it was never submitted in the end.
As reported previously by Port City Daily, emails indicated the city was in talks with Ward & Smith attorney Clint Cogburn, the developer’s representative, for the $23,450 fine.
“This is the base amount and not the more punitive metric used when we know the owner/developer to have been aware that a permit is required,” city zoning administrator Kathryn Thurston wrote in an email to Cogburn last year.
Any tree that is not mitigated would be fined at a rate of $175 per caliper inch — or in this case 498 caliper inches of tree. Thurston clarified it equaled $87,150 for the 38 trees. Adding in the fine, the total citation would be $110,600.
According to the current rezoning application for the senior housing development, the violation was settled in August 2024. PCD asked the city how much was owed and paid but didn’t hear back by press; this will be updated upon response.
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