Wilmington City Council approves housing developments on Carolina Beach Rd

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The Wilmington City Council approved two proposed developments on Carolina Beach Road, a contract for a downtown plan and other topics at a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19.

Council approved a proposal unanimously to rezone about 8 acres at the 3900 block of Carolina Beach Road from R-15 (single-dwelling residential) to MD-19 Conditional District (multiple-dwelling, high-density residential). Council also voted to waive the second reading for the proposal.

The one condition is that a physical barrier needs to be put in the immediate vicinity of Independence Blvd that would be sufficient to prevent left turns into and out of the site.

The proposal include 225 apartments in three four-story buildings with a maximum building height of 68 feet. In compliance with the planning board’s unanimous conditional recommendation, the developers are proposing that 23 apartments be used as workforce housing.

A proposal was passed 5-1 to rezone 23.33 acres near the intersection of Carolina Beach Road and Independence Boulevard from R-15 to MD-17 (multiple-dwelling, high-density residential).

This is the second vote that the proposal needed to move forward; it was approved 5-2 during the council’s Sept. 5 meeting.

The developers will start to build 242 apartments in five, four-story buildings along with 15 townhomes in five two-story buildings.

The planning board conditionally recommended this project as well, with conditions including a requirement for an NCDOT-approved pedestrian crosswalk with signals across Independence Blvd and to limit the project to a maximum of 257 residential units.

The council also unanimously approved a $350,000 contract agreement with Agency Landscape + Planning, LLC to develop its Greater Downtown Special Area Plan.

“The process is estimated to take approximately 16 months and includes extensive community outreach to residents and stakeholders within the 18-neighborhood study area. This plan will succeed previous plans adopted within the planning area for the Downtown, North Side, and South Side neighborhoods,” the announcement states.

The council will hold a public hearing on a report on the city’s distribution of federal funds for affordable housing opportunities.

In particular, the hearing will be on the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER), which covers how the city uses Federal CDBG and HME investment program funding.

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