Boom in Brunswick

When Tee and Mike Leffin moved to Brunswick Forest in 2016, they stayed so busy with new friends that their adult children began referring to their new neighborhood as Brunswick Forest University, or BFU. (Photo by Terah Hoobler)

Even the most casual observer driving along U.S. 17 in Brunswick County can’t help noticing the volume and extent of new housing developments that are springing up along the corridor. A visitor to Shallotte will surely note the installation of water and sewer infrastructure in several key locations and the new streets under construction. Between Sunset Beach and Calabash, developers are turning previously vacant swaths into new neighborhoods.

Brunswick County is the fastest-growing county in North Carolina and one of the 10 fastest-growing counties in the nation. Older adults are driving that growth. Statistics from North Carolina’s State Data Center show that the county’s older adult population more than doubled over a decade: from 24,001 in 2010 to 47,027 in 2020. The older adult population now accounts for 34.4% of the total population of Brunswick County. 

Leland’s Brunswick Forest, the largest community development in the county, has benefited from this influx of older adults. It’s preparing to open a new 88-home neighborhood, Osprey Landing, according to Beth Burgee, the community’s marketing director. People who buy the lots will choose their builders from a list of approved providers, she said, adding that Osprey Landing will have a “coastal cottage” architectural style, which has proved popular in other neighborhoods such as Egret Cove.

“Lot prices start in the high $100,000s and each lot has either a water or a nature view,” Burgee said. “Each house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a bonus room, and can be customized. Each will have a front porch and a screened back porch, which most people call a lanai.”

With its three fitness centers, pickleball and tennis courts, Cape Fear National Golf Course, nearly 100 miles of walking trails, four swimming pools and two community centers, Brunswick Forest has proved a magnet for the predominant demographic moving into the county: active older adults. Mike and Tee Leffin are examples.

“Both Mike and I are very active,” Tee Leffin said, adding that Brunswick Forest’s amenities won them over when they scouted the Wilmington area several years ago. Not only are they avid pickleball players, but they also utilize the community’s fitness facilities and hope that exercise and wellness amenities will expand as Brunswick Forest’s population grows.

 “We give kudos to the fitness and wellness center instructors,” she continued. “We both take full advantage of exercise classes.”

Being active and involved, of course, is an excellent way to make new friends. That has been the Leffins’ experience since moving from Madison, Wisconsin, into their Shelmore neighborhood in 2016.

“When we moved down here, we met so many new people and were so busy, our (adult) kids called this BFU – Brunswick Forest University,” Tee Leffin said with a laugh. “We also gained the ‘freshman 15.’ We have amazing friends, more and more people from all over.”

Steve and Barbara Bucci moved to Brunswick Forest from New Jersey in 2011, building their home in the Evangeline neighborhood the following year.

“We moved to this area primarily for its access to the ocean; we moved to North Carolina because my sister lives in Raleigh,” Barbara Bucci said. “The amount of house and size of lot were more affordable here than in the Raleigh area.”

Easy access across the river to Wilmington and its medical community, its cultural life, its colleges and its Episcopal churches was another draw, the Buccis said.

“Another factor was (lower) property taxes, which allowed us to travel every year except during the pandemic,” Steve Bucci added.

In the 11 years they have lived in Brunswick Forest, the couple has seen Leland grow up around them.

“With all the people coming in, it felt inevitable that stuff was going to grow,” Steve Bucci said. “Now we’re getting a Lowe’s (Home Improvement) and more restaurants, although we go primarily to Wilmington for restaurants. People complain about the traffic, but moving from New Jersey and having a daughter in California, traffic doesn’t bother us. We have access to the Wilson Center and the amenities of the colleges, as well as Opera Wilmington.”

Like the Leffins, the Buccis appreciate how easy it has been to make new friends. They are also active users of the fitness facilities Brunswick Forest offers.

A very different kind of community further south is preparing for significant growth. 

Shallotte, whose town limits lie mainly south of U.S. 17 and along the Shallotte River, is a municipality of about 5,000. Now, with approval or near-approval of housing developments that would add another 2,000 units to the town’s housing stock, and discussions underway on proposals for another 600 or so, Mayor Walt Eccard said Shallotte wants to get out in front of a population explosion by creating adequate infrastructure and amenities.

“Our focus has been on several things: As we grow, we have concerns for green space and recreation areas for all our citizens, so we’re extending Mulberry Park to the river and adding another 10 acres. It’s all passive use: letting people enjoy the river and have a good recreational space,” he said, noting also that the town is extending its riverwalk as well. While much of Shallotte’s population is “graying,” as Eccard puts it, the town wants to be an attractive place for young families as well.

“We also want to be a destination for more than shopping at our box stores,” he continued. “One of our goals is to convert transient traffic into traffic that spends more time here. So, we have a concert series every week in the summer and children’s programs this summer as well, for people who come down for a week at the beach and want other things to do, who want to spend a little more time in Shallotte. Currently, between the park and the riverfront, we have about 18 acres; when Mulberry Park is completed we will have over 25 acres. It’s a healthy investment in green space. We hope people will see there’s more to do in Shallotte than just shop.”

Eccard said a third goal is to preserve the character of the town and improve the appearance of Main Street, a landlocked state road that runs through the town center. Officials are working with the N.C. Department of Transportation on a traffic signalization project to try and relieve congestion and make the street more pedestrian-friendly.

The challenge, said Eccard, is that growth frequently takes place before revenues from growth flow into local coffers to support it. And from a planning point of view, he added, it’s never clear if all of the proposed developments will happen, especially in today’s climate of higher interest rates and tighter credit requirements. All the same, Shallotte is installing water and sewer, laying streets for new developments and thinking ahead to the needs for fire and police services.

The majority of Brunswick County beach towns are planning new housing developments. Whether those are single-family, multifamily or cluster developments depends on each municipality’s regulations, said Wes MacLeod, local government services director for the Cape Fear Council of Governments.

While there is not an official effort to lure older adults to the county’s coastal towns, many of those housing units will be marketed toward retirees or people looking toward retirement, MacLeod said, noting that the median age of Sunset Beach and Calabash residents is in the upper 60s.

“I do think it is obviously things that are more tailored toward the retiree population, and that’s a lot of the folks that are moving to Brunswick County beach towns and along the coast,” he said.

Retiree housing preferences are driving changes in the types of housing being built across the county. Brunswick’s planning director Kirstie Dixon said that the county is successfully working with developers to encourage more planned developments. The result, she said, means more clustered housing that preserves open space, wildlife habitat and wetlands while avoiding building in floodplains. 

As more senior citizens move to Brunswick County, Dixon said, “We’re definitely seeing a trend toward more townhomes and cluster developments. We’re also seeing more build-to-rent developments, with homes that could eventually be sold.”

This article appeared in the 2023-24 print issue of Good Life Wilmington magazine. To see a flipbook of the magazine, click here.