Three new housing developments coming to the Wilmington area

With a growing population, it’s no secret that there’s also an intense need for a diversity of housing options in Wilmington and throughout New Hanover County. To address that need, the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce announced three more housing developments that are coming online in the Wilmington and Castle Hayne areas.

“Our Legislative Agenda prioritizes supporting new housing opportunities at all price points to meet the needs of our expanding workforce. The introduction of Seaboard at Sidbury Station, The Cordelia, and Anchor’s Bend Townhomes is a step in fulfilling this commitment, addressing both immediate needs and enhancing the economic vitality of our region,” said Natalie English, president and CEO of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, in a news release.

New developments

Castle Hayne's Seaboard at Sidbury Station was developed by the largest home construction company in the United States, D.R. Horton. The recently opened development is a build-to-rent community intended to address the affordable, eco-friendly living much needed throughout the community.

Unlike the build-to-rent community offered by Sidbury Station, The Cordelia offers luxury apartments. Woodfield Development out of Raleigh established the apartment community in an effort to provide upscale living that offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, along with over 11,000 square feet of amenities including pickleball courts, pools and indoor gyms.

At The Cordelia's ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, Steven Hill, the Chamber of Commerce’s vice president of talent pipeline, said they’re doing a lot of work right now to bring the medical field to Wilmington.

“This project is absolutely perfect for what we’re talking about because you’re putting a lot of living space in a small square footage area, which is what we need" Hill said. "Obviously New Hanover County is not growing more land. What we’ve found in our research is that even though we have the largest nursing programs in the state, only 27% of our university grads actually stay in this area and that’s something we’ve got to work on.”

Outside of two new rental options in the community, the new for-sale townhome neighborhood, Anchor’s Bend, is officially opening this month as well. Developed by McKee Homes, Anchor’s Bend offers three-level townhomes featuring amenities like private elevators, screened-in porches and a community pool.

Discover more: New year, new developments: 13 projects to watch in New Hanover County in 2024

Diversity of housing

In relation to population growth and The Cordelia, Josh Hallingse of the Chamber of Commerce said the “Chamber of Commerce represents over a thousand businesses in our region. That’s over 40,000 employees… we’re seeing a ton of growth. Our growth rate here in the Wilmington region is about 1.7% -- that’s double the state average, so we’ve got to keep pace with that and the only way that we can keep pace with that is with developments like [The Cordelia], to provide opportunities for people to relocate and bring their families.”

Even with the new developments, city and county leaders are still working to increase housing types for all people. Sharm Brantley, Wilmington and New Hanover County’s chair of the workforce housing advisory committee, recently told city council that the committee recommends continuing work on balancing housing costs with wages and increasing the diversity of housing.

“The need still exists. Though we’ve made great strides in recent years, unfortunately there are too many of our residents who are still in crisis. Our community has an annual gap of about 2,900 units,” Brantley told the council.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington, NC, welcomes three diverse housing developments