WILMINGTON — More development is expected to fill out a rapidly growing area of midtown, across from The Pointe at Barclay, as one property management company makes moves to pave way for 570 rental housing units.
Middleburg Communities — an LLC based out of Virginia, also behind Mosby at Riverlights — is applying for the rezoning of 50 acres for a mix of dwelling types: 184 cottages, 96 townhomes and 290 apartments. Site plans also show a dog park, clubhouse and pool on the apartment side.
Cottages and townhomes will range from 785 to 1,694 square feet with up to three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths. More than 500 parking spaces are planned for the less-dense side of the complex, 1.86 per unit. Of those, 126 are in garages.
On the other side of the development, closest to 17th, five apartment buildings will span 20 acres. Each building will consist of between 50 and 60 units, making up a total of 290 homes. There will be 514 surface parking spaces and 25 garage spots.
Located along South 17th Street and Independence Boulevard, the vacant property is currently owned by Wilmington-based Graham-Cameron AG & Timber Company, LLC. It is zoned for office and institutional uses, but the requested change to multifamily residential would open it up to the varying housing styles.
Originally the property was owned by Cameron Properties Limited Partnership and included in a massive, 300-plus acre conditional zoning for Barclay West in 2013, according to the rezoning application. The change was the first step in a vision for major mixed-use development mimicking Mayfaire and included The Pointe, which now features restaurants, a movie theater, a nail salon, dentist and other businesses.
The applicant wrote in its pitch for the rezoning that the project would relieve inflating pressure on the housing market as transplants move into the city. It remarks the housing shortage is mainly in the middle and single-family housing rental market.
“This proposed residential development will create additional housing units and alternative rental options in a variety of housing types — in close proximity to employment centers, shopping, goods, services and amenities, in a central midtown area of the City,” the application states.
The property is also across from the Cameron Art Museum and backs up to two existing housing developments.
Adjacent to the Bellingham Park condominiums, a 60-foot buffer will separate the residents from the newcomers. Typically only 15 feet is required under the requested zoning.
Where the project backs up to homes in the Hanover Heights neighborhood, open space is designed between the boundary and built-out land, in addition to the 60-foot buffer. Development on that side, farther away from South 17th Street than the apartments, is made up of less-dense townhomes and duplexes.
The application also states no roads will enter the neighboring residential community. Plans show two roundabouts leading out to Independence Boulevard and a third that would guide drivers onto 17th Street.
In response to a January meeting with invited neighbors, developers are also proposing a fence along the edge of Hanover Heights.
The City of Wilmington Planning Commission will consider the rezoning June 1. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. on the second floor of City Hall, 102 North 3rd St. in downtown Wilmington.
City council will make the final decision at a later date.
Reach journalist Alexandria Sands at alexandria@localdailymedia.com or @alexsands_
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