BRUNSWICK COUNTY — With roughly one-third of Brunswick County residents aged 65-and-older, a new large-scale community has been approved north of Calabash to meet the growing market.
California-based Integral Communities has planned 3,700 varied residences and 135,000 square feet of commercial space in a project called “Canopy,” located near the North and South Carolina border. The developer has experience with mixed-use, infill and diverse housing solutions in its portfolio, though Canopy is its first entry into the Brunswick County region.
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Integral representative Paul Tyron — senior VP of land acquisition and development — told planning board members the project will be a 55-and-older, age-restricted gated community on Gwynn Road, near Number 5 School Road.
“We build and develop in a lot of communities country-wide,” he said at the March 9 meeting, noting Integral focuses on thoughtful, contemporary designs, and has engaged Brunswick planning staff and nearby neighbors in the last year of planning. “We want a project that listens to the community.”
The group held a community meeting in December and turned over several letters of support to the planning board. Port City Daily asked the county for more information about who sent the letters but didn’t receive a response by press.
The developers proposed a range of housing types on almost 813 acres, including mostly single-family homes, but also townhomes, duplexes, and rental apartments. Around 47 acres will be for commercial use and 60 acres for amenities, including pickleball courts, swimming pools, clubhouses, restaurants, hiking trails and fitness centers.
“The commercial area is targeted toward other things in the community,” Walter Warren, of Thomas and Hutton Engineers, told the planning board. “It’s not your standard run-of-the-mill.”
The project overall will be on 1,052 acres, with the goal to meet market needs in Brunswick County, as it remains the state’s fastest growing county in North Carolina. The median age of a Brunswick County resident is 56, and in the next 40 or so years the North Carolina State Demographer’s Office anticipates the population escalating to 354,084, with around 165,000 residents aged 65 or older.
Warren explained to the board an age-restricted community has benefits that won’t add strain to certain county resources. For instance, an older community has marginal impacts on schools and traffic counts are often less — by 30% or 40%, he pinpointed. Retirees often have fewer cars per household, plus the community will allow golf carts for transportation within its footprint and increased walkability with sidewalks on internal streets.
Still, the project will generate roughly 21,870 vehicles per 24-hour weekday volume. Per a traffic impact analysis approved by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, developers will conduct roadway improvements to meet increased traffic on nearby roads — Number 5 School River Road, Ash River Road, Ethridge Road and Pea Landing Road, which spills onto Highway 17. Some of the project infrastructure improvements include the installation of multiple roundabouts into the development, as well as better signaling, lanes and U-turns on varied roadways.
Canopy also is located near one of the routes considered as part of the Carolina Bays Parkway Extension coming into Brunswick County.
The property abuts nearby Brunswick Plantation and the incoming Woodland Reserve. Brunswick Deputy Planning Director Marc Pages said developers are working on a third entrance from Woodland, once it is complete. The 232-acre Woodland is another age-restricted gated community, approved by the planning board in December, to bring 620 units to the vicinity.
Of the sprawling Canopy acreage, 20 consist of wetlands and almost 163 are in the floodplain. No units are planned in these areas, according to the development team. They’re also constructing fewer units, 3.5 per acre, than approved for R-7500 zoning, which is 5.8. Only 5% of the open space — 378 acres, more than the 210 required by the county — are made up of wetlands and there will be 49.6 acres of recreation space, 18 more than mandated.
“They are asking for flexibility on where the townhomes or multi-family will be located,” Pages told the planning board during the staff presentation.
The neighborhood will be constructed in three phases, with phase one consisting of 650 units expected by 2028. Phase two will bring the bulk of construction with 2,000 units, completed by 2032. Full build-out, with the shopping plaza, is expected by 2034.
The group is also open to donating a portion of land to the county for EMS and fire facilities, should it be needed as the region grows.
Staff recommended approval, especially considering the exceptional design features of increased open and recreational spaces, stormwater ponds being built to 100-year events, and the mixed-use concept.
An expanded buffer will be in place along the adjacent agricultural district area; the land otherwise is surrounded by R-7500 medium density residential, SBR-6000, site built high density residential, and RR, rural residential.
No one spoke during public comment in favor or against.
The planning board approved Canopy unanimously, 4-0; board member Jim Board was not present for the vote. Canopy has a three-year vested right to break ground.
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