Communities & Relocation More people each year are choosing to relocate to the southeastern corner of North Carolina from many other parts of the country. This area is a desirable, premier location for retirees, corporate relocation and expansion, entrepreneurs and those seeking a better quality of life. New houses are being built, existing homes are selling, and the real estate and construction industries appear to be enjoying robust recovery and growth once again.
COMMUNITIES & RELOCATION
PHOTO BY MEGAN DEITZ
The Cape Fear Riverfront area in north Wilmington
There are so many distinct communities in the Greater Wilmington area that it’s not possible to list all of them. We will mention a few that are continuing to develop in three basic areas: Brunswick County, which includes Southport and Leland; New Hanover County, which includes Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach; and Pender County, just north of Wilmington. We’ll begin with Brunswick County, which experienced a 43.5 percent population growth during the ’90s and is one of North Carolina’s fastest growing counties. Today numerous relatively new developments and neighborhoods exist in Brunswick County, primarily along
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North Carolina N.C. highways 133 and 211 from Southport and along U.S. Highway 17. A number are gated communities, sometimes called resorts, and quite a few have golf courses.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY Although New Hanover County geographically is the second smallest county in North Carolina, it’s far from the smallest in residential development. One of the fastest growing areas in the county is along River Road, which has been rerouted to facilitate some of this development. Not so many years
ago, the only developments between Carolina Beach Road and River Road were The Cape, Beau Rivage Plantation and Echo Farms Golf and Country Club. Today, thousands of homes have been built or are planned for this burgeoning corridor along the Cape Fear River from downtown Wilmington to Pleasure Island, with prices ranging from the $200s to the millions. Proximity to beaches and services makes this area particularly attractive. Wilmington’s airport, the New Hanover Regional Medical Center and all the health facilities and medical offices around it, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach are all a short
