Two Brunswick County developments propose 450 new homes

Plans for Tidebourne Landing and Village at Town Creek call for a combined 450 single-family homes on nearly 170 acres in Brunswick County.

Oct 23, 2026 • By Cierra Noffke • 3 min. read

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by WilmingtonBiz and has been reformatted for visibility and readability.

Two proposed residential developments could bring a combined 450 single-family homes to nearly 170 acres in Brunswick County.

Tidebourne Landing would include 274 homes on a little more than 105 acres along Ocean Isle Beach Road, while Village at Town Creek would add another 176 homes on around 60 acres near U.S. 17.

The projects were among the items presented to the Brunswick County Planning Board in September.

Key takeaways

The bigger picture: Two proposed planned developments in Brunswick County call for a combined 450 single-family homes on nearly 170 acres.
The details: Tidebourne Landing would include 274 homes near Ocean Isle Beach, while Village at Town Creek would include 176 homes near U.S. 17.
Why it matters: Agenda documents outlined potential impacts involving school capacity and traffic, with both projects expected to generate thousands of vehicle trips each weekday.
The more you know: Planning staff recommended approval of both projects, according to agenda documents.

Tidebourne Landing would bring 274 homes near Ocean Isle Beach

Ryan Homes applied for a proposed planned development called Tidebourne Landing, consisting of 274 single-family units on a little over 105 acres.

The property is currently zoned rural residential, medium-density residential and low-density commercial. The proposed development would have an overall density of 2.59 dwelling units per acre.

The development would be located at 5542 Lakewood Drive and 5556 Watts Road, along Ocean Isle Beach Road.

According to agenda documents:

The development is expected to have a “significant” impact on nearby Union Elementary School capacity, which was at 95%.
The project would generate about 2,477 vehicle trips per 24-hour weekday.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation recommended establishing two new intersections to accommodate anticipated traffic increases.
A proposed four-leg, full-movement intersection would be located at Ocean Isle Beach Road and Site Access A.
Another proposed full-movement intersection would be located at Watts Road and Site Access B.

Planning staff recommended approving the project, according to the agenda documents.

Village at Town Creek proposes another 176 homes

Norris and Bland Engineering submitted an application for Village at Town Creek, a planned development consisting of 176 single-family units on around 60 acres.

The property is currently zoned rural residential, and the proposed development would have a density of 2.89 dwelling units per acre.

The development would be located at the intersection of Old Town Creek and Maco roads, near U.S. 17.

NCDOT recommended widening the eastbound approach of Old Town Creek Road and estimated the project would generate around 1,698 vehicle trips per 24-hour weekday.

Plans also include:

A 30-foot peripheral buffer using existing vegetation.
A 30-foot street buffer along the U.S. 17 and Old Town Creek Road frontages.
A 30-foot utility easement.
A minimum 60-foot separation between the proposed lots and U.S. 17.

Planning staff also recommended approving the project, based on the agenda documents.

Planning board changes tied to House Bill 1222

At the time of the proposals, the Brunswick County Planning Board was also set to amend the county's Unified Development Ordinance to comply with House Bill 1222, which took effect July 2.

The change shifted authority for final development decisions from the planning board to county commissioners. The planning board retained approval authority for development decisions on projects submitted before July 2.

Two additional rezonings were also under consideration

Along with the two planned developments, the board was considering two rezoning requests.

One involved nearly 5 acres next to 2699 Southport-Supply Road. Wilmington-based billboard agency Grey Outdoor LLC requested that the property be rezoned from rural residential to commercial-low density.

John Donoghue Realty LLC also requested a rezoning for 6.82 acres. The property is currently zoned commercial-low density and medium-density residential, and the request would rezone the tract to commercial-low density.