LELAND, N.C — On Tuesday evening the Town of Leland’s Planning Board approved two separate requests that will pave the way for roughly 500 new townhomes.
The requests were made by two individual developers and were passed by the board in two separate votes. A total of 254 of the townhomes will be located in the Westgate Neighborhood, while 212 units will be built in Leland’s Seabrooke community.
Now that both developments have been approved by the Planning Board, final authorization will need to come from an official vote from the entire town council.
Leland is the most populated town in Brunswick County, which happens to be the second fastest growing county in the entire state. Between the 2010 and 2020 census the population of Leland increased by 70%. It now stands at 22,908.
“Leland has its own identity and own feel,” said Scott Saxton of Just For Buyers Realty, “But more and more it is becoming a bedroom community, really a suburb of Wilmington.”
The vote in Leland echoes a similar discussion that is currently taking place in Wilmington. The Wilmington Planning Commission will be holding public hearings next month on three rezoning request. One, if approved, would build 570 homes, half of them townhomes, near the intersection of Independence and 17th. Another would build 61 townhomes off Oleander and Giles Avenue. A third rezoning request is from a developer who wants to build six multi-family units off Beasley Road.
The projects in New Hanover County are early in the process, with final approval and start of construction still several months away. The projects in Leland, if approved by the town council, could see construction starting as early as this summer.
Townhomes have been growing in popularity on both sides of the Cape Fear River. Already in this decade, a total of 546 units have been built throughout Wilmington and Leland. Experts say as real estate prices continue to increase; townhomes are more and more becoming an option for young families and first time buyers.
“Look at how townhomes have changed in styles over the years,” said Saxton. “The ones that were built a couple of decades ago were single story units that were marketed towards retirees. They were folks who wanted to downsize and no longer wanted to take care of a yard. Now, more and more we are seeing two story structures being built in communities with playgrounds. This style is being market toward younger folks who may have been priced-out of the traditional single family neighborhoods. Townhomes are becoming a more affordable way to get into the market.”