6,000-Unit Jackey's Creek Development Moves Forward in Leland

Wilmington, NC — A 1,440-acre master-planned community known as Jackey's Creek is advancing through the approval pipeline in Leland, with the potential to deliver up to 6,000 residential units — plus commercial, retail, and medical uses — along one of Brunswick County's most active growth corridors.

The project, now under Leland's planning oversight after a unanimous annexation vote, represents one of the largest single residential development proposals in the Cape Fear region's recent history.

The Project: Scope, Location, and Timeline

Jackey's Creek Investors LLC, the project's developer and landowner, controls a site positioned between U.S. Highway 17 and N.C. Highway 133 in Leland, adjacent to established master-planned communities including Brunswick Forest and Mallory Creek Plantation. The development is planned to accommodate residential units ranging from single-family homes and townhomes to apartments, alongside commercial, retail, office, and medical facilities.

Annexation and Rezoning Approved

In September 2025, the Leland Town Council voted unanimously to annex more than 1,100 acres of the Jackey's Creek property, bringing the full project under the town's planning, zoning, and utilities oversight. The town's rationale was straightforward: the site was already surrounded by Leland's municipal boundaries and within Leland's fire district, making annexation a practical exercise in governance alignment. The rezoning approved a mixed-use designation supporting residential, limited commercial, and "economic use" of land — oriented around a walkable, five-minute-radius community concept.

School Infrastructure Built In

The Brunswick County School Board moved forward in July 2025 with plans for a 750-student elementary school on the property, with the school district contracting approximately 64 acres from the developer. The school is targeted to open in 2028, coinciding with the earliest phases of residential buildout.

Projected Economic Impact

A feasibility study commissioned during an earlier iteration of the project — which originally included a minor-league baseball stadium before that component was dropped over financing concerns — projected that the full Jackey's Creek buildout over approximately 30 years could generate more than $182 million in additional Town and County property tax revenue and approximately $175 million in sales tax. During construction and buildout, an estimated 29,695 temporary jobs and more than $5.1 billion in total economic output are projected.

What's Pending

A detailed site plan has yet to be submitted to the town for technical review. The developer must work through Leland's Technical Review Committee (TRC) process — which will evaluate each section of the development against town ordinances — before building permits can be issued. A construction start timeline has not been publicly announced.

Why This Matters for Buyers and Investors

A 6,000-Unit Pipeline in a Supply-Constrained Market

The Wilmington metro housing market entered 2026 with approximately 7.84 months of total housing supply — elevated relative to recent years — but that aggregate figure obscures a more nuanced picture at the new-construction segment, where demand among relocating buyers, retirees, and remote workers remains robust. Jackey's Creek represents a major future inventory event in a submarket — the Leland/Brunswick County corridor — that has consistently absorbed large master-planned communities. Brunswick Forest and Mallory Creek Plantation filled in steadily for years before this neighboring site began its approval process.

The Brunswick County Growth Engine Is Still Running

Brunswick County remains one of the fastest-growing counties in North Carolina and the nation. The county's growth is attracting commercial investment — retail, medical, and service businesses following rooftop counts — that further increases the desirability of residential addresses there. Jackey's Creek's mixed-use component, which includes medical office and retail, is designed to capture that commercial investment on-site rather than exporting it to competing corridors.

Near-Term Buyer Market Dynamics Favor Negotiation

Before Jackey's Creek delivers any meaningful inventory, buyers in the Leland corridor operate in a market that, while more balanced than 2021–2023, still rewards well-priced, well-located product. Redfin data shows Wilmington's median sale price reached $458,000 in January 2026 — up 14.9% year-over-year — with homes averaging 77 days on market, compared to 34 days the prior year. The extended market time gives near-term buyers more negotiating leverage than they have seen in several years, even as prices remain elevated.

Broader Implications for the Cape Fear Housing Market

• Jackey's Creek validates the Leland/Brunswick corridor as a long-term residential growth node. The annexation, school board commitment, and mixed-use zoning approval signal that Leland intends to manage — not resist — dense residential growth, giving developers and buyers a more predictable regulatory environment than some comparable markets in the state.
• The 30-year buildout horizon matters for land investors. At roughly 6,000 units over three decades, Jackey's Creek is not a near-term supply event — it is a structural reshaping of how the western Wilmington metro grows. Land investors and builders positioning in adjacent parcels today are betting on that long runway.
• School capacity investment is a buyer confidence signal. The 750-student elementary school — contracted before a single home is built — represents a credible commitment from Brunswick County Schools to infrastructure that typically constrains the appeal of large new developments. For family buyers evaluating communities, this pre-commitment reduces a major adoption barrier.
• Public opposition exists and may slow phasing. Approximately 100 residents attended the September 2025 Leland Town Council meeting in opposition, citing concerns over environmental impact, utility costs to current taxpayers, and clear-cutting of existing tree cover. While the council proceeded, sustained opposition could influence TRC reviews and impose conditions that extend timelines or raise developer costs.

What's Next for Buyers and Investors

The immediate milestone to watch is the developer's first formal site plan submission to Leland's TRC. That submission will reveal the phasing sequence, density by section, unit type breakdown, and commercial land allocation — the details that determine whether Phase 1 skews toward for-sale single-family (appealing to buyers) or apartment rental inventory (relevant to multifamily investors). Given the 2028 school opening target, Phase 1 residential permits likely need to be filed within the next 18 to 24 months to align with that infrastructure timeline. Any announcement of a named homebuilder partnership would be the clearest accelerant signal for buyers tracking new construction availability in the corridor.

Buyer Takeaways

• Jackey's Creek is a long-horizon story — today's opportunity is in adjacent, established communities that will see rising demand as this project activates. Brunswick Forest, Mallory Creek, and River Bluffs are all positioned to benefit from increased attention on the corridor.
• Near-term buyers in Leland have negotiating leverage that won't last. With homes averaging 77 days on market and sellers pricing more competitively, the 2026 window offers conditions buyers haven't seen since pre-pandemic years.
• The school infrastructure commitment de-risks the development's family-buyer appeal. The 750-student elementary school opening in 2028 is a meaningful differentiator for families evaluating the Leland corridor against alternatives further from Wilmington.

In Summary

Jackey's Creek is the Cape Fear region's largest development story — one that will play out over decades, not quarters. The project's annexation approval, mixed-use zoning, and built-in school investment confirm that Leland is preparing its infrastructure for a major residential expansion along the U.S. 17 corridor.

For buyers, the near-term opportunity is in today's more balanced market conditions before this pipeline activates; for investors, the signal is that Brunswick County's residential trajectory remains firmly upward, supported by institutional-scale development capital and a county government demonstrably committed to accommodating growth.