Over 1,600 new homes in northern Brunswick County have earned the county's stamp of approval.
The Brunswick County Planning Board on Aug. 11 approved the Hooper Road Tract Planned Development, a 1,670 single-family unit development on approximately 594.85 acres near Leland.
The proposed Hooper Road development is sandwiched between Hood Creek and Bay Branch, near Northwest and Navassa.
Planning board members and Andy Mills with Colliers Engineering and Design, representing the project developer, in June opted to table the project. Mills said he wanted time to address concerns residents and the board had about emergency service access, school over crowdedness and increases in traffic.
Here's more on the original proposal, approved development and when residents can expect to see the development come to life.
Gloomy weather leads Brunswick into another week of stressing over flooding and building
Previous concerns about the development overloading two-lane Hooper Road
Originally, the proposed plan included 1,725 single-family lots along Hooper Road NE.
Several neighboring residents and board members expressed concerns on June 9 about the development overloading Hooper Road, a narrow, curvy and already busy road, since the project is expected to generate over 14,000 daily vehicle trips.
"It seems like an overload," resident Todd Willis said.
Emergency access and school capacities were also big concerns for residents.
Leland pushes for a DMV office and a second post office. Here's the latest.
An emergency access road connecting Dogwood Road NE to Mt. Misery Road NE would be constructed. However property owners, board members and county staff said another emergency access would be ideal.
Mills in response said some areas where an additional access would be favorable are where flood zones and wetlands are located.
Sam Franck, on behalf of the developer, told the board the development will be constructed in phases over the course of at least 10 years, noting families will not begin moving in until 2028 when a new school is expected to open.
New plans approved by county planning board
County planning board members approved the developer's new plan that consists of 1,670 single family units as opposed to 1,725 homes.
The development will have 145 acres of dedicated open space and 20 acres of recreation space. Water and sewer will be connected to Brunswick County utilities and roads within the new development will be private.
Traffic improvements around the development site will be installed, including a roundabout, dedicated turn lanes and a new traffic signal near the intersection of Hooper Road and Mt. Misery Road.
Mills previously told StarNews that once approved, the developer will move forward with the design process and phase one engineering plan. Phase one includes about 300 home sites, Mills said.
Mills said in June the developer is waiting for engineering, utilities, stormwater and transportation approval and that construction cannot begin until approvals are given and a three-mile force main off Mt. Misery Road is installed.
The applicant said all required permits should be approved and in hand by summer 2026. If all goes to plan, Mills said site development can be completed 12 months after that.
STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the area’s latest Brunswick County news by signing up for the and following us on and .
Savanna Tenenoff covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at.