72-Unit Townhome Proposal on 9 Acres Tests Myrtle Grove's Missing-Middle Demand Signal

Investment Summary

A proposed 72-unit townhome development on a nine-acre tract in Wilmington's Myrtle Grove corridor targets the metro's most acute housing gap: middle-income product priced between entry-level detached homes and downtown multifamily.

At an estimated 8 units per acre, the project represents a density format that remains rare in southern New Hanover County's traditionally single-family landscape.

If executed at scale, the development could establish a replicable template for suburban infill as the Wilmington MSA absorbs roughly 12,000 new residents annually and median home prices continue to outpace middle-income wage growth.

Fast Facts

• Product type: Townhomes (missing-middle / attached for-sale housing)
• Unit count: 72 units (per New Hanover County community meeting notice, July 2025)
• Site: ~9 acres at 6302 Chissom Road (off Carolina Beach Road, across from Veteran's Park), Myrtle Grove area, southern New Hanover County
• Density: ~8 units/acre (consistent with requested R-5 rezoning allowing up to 8 units/acre)
• Layout: 36 duplex structures described as townhomes
• Developer/applicant: Gary Hufham / Winds Ridge HOA, seeking conditional rezoning from R-15 to R-5
• Total investment: Not disclosed; no verified dollar figure available
• Construction timeline: Not confirmed; no groundbreaking date on record
• Incentives: No state or local incentive package identified
• Community meeting: July 29, 2025, at River Road Park Picnic Shelter (6500 River Road)
• Comparable nearby filing: Alton Orchard — 51 units at 6200 Myrtle Grove Road, approved September 17, 2025 (New Hanover County residential database)

⚠️ Key data caveat: Total capital investment, per-unit pricing, and construction schedule have not been independently verified through county filings, EDAWN announcements, or developer disclosures. An earlier notice referenced 112 units on 14 acres, but was updated to 72 units on 9 acres after approximately 5 acres were identified as permanent open space for Winds Ridge HOA. The figures cited below rely on the project's stated parameters and regional benchmarks.

What Happened

Developers have proposed building 72 townhomes on roughly nine acres in the Myrtle Grove section of Wilmington, a suburban corridor in southern New Hanover County that has historically been dominated by single-family detached housing. The project, located at 6302 Chissom Road, would deliver attached, for-sale units at a density meaningfully above the area's prevailing residential pattern. Access would be via an extended Chissom Road to Golden Road and Carolina Beach Road, with no new entrance planned.

The proposal requires conditional rezoning from R-15 (max 2.5 units/acre) to R-5 (up to 8 units/acre). New Hanover County issued a community meeting notice in late July 2025, and the meeting was held July 29, 2025, as reported by both WilmingtonBiz and Port City Daily.

New Hanover County's residential projects database also confirms additional development pressure in Myrtle Grove, including the 51-unit Alton Orchard performance residential project at 6200 Myrtle Grove Road, approved in September 2025. A separate 73-unit single-family home subdivision (not townhomes) on 22 acres at 6148 Myrtle Grove Road had a community meeting on January 27, 2026, seeking rezoning from R-15 to R-10.

Why It Matters

Wilmington's housing supply problem is well-documented but narrowly understood. The metro is not short on luxury multifamily or high-end single-family — it is short on middle-density, middle-price-point product that serves households earning between $50,000 and $90,000 annually. Townhomes at 8 units per acre occupy exactly that gap.

If priced in the $275,000–$350,000 range — a plausible but unconfirmed estimate for new-construction townhomes in southern New Hanover County — the project would serve buyers currently priced out of detached homes in the same corridor. Myrtle Grove's typical home value was approximately $484,000 as of early 2025 according to Zillow, while Data USA reported a 2024 median property value of $439,100. The broader New Hanover County median sale price was approximately $458,000 as of October 2025. For workforce planners, this product type matters because it helps retain mid-career workers — nurses, teachers, logistics supervisors — who are otherwise forced into longer commutes from Brunswick or Pender County.

What Stands Out

• Density is the story, not scale. At 72 units on 9 acres, this is modest in absolute terms but significant as a format shift. The site's current R-15 zoning allows a maximum of 2.5 units per acre; the requested R-5 rezoning would allow up to 8 units per acre — a significant departure from the corridor's traditional character.
• No verified incentive package. Unlike manufacturing or tech investments, residential projects of this size rarely draw state-level incentives, which means the developer is betting entirely on market absorption.
• Alton Orchard provides a leading indicator. The 51-unit project approved on the same road in September 2025 suggests the county planning apparatus is already processing increased density in this corridor.
• Population math supports demand. The Wilmington MSA added approximately 12,400 new residents between 2024 and 2025, a 2.6% annual growth rate that ranked in the top 10 U.S. metros for population increase. The region saw 83% inbound migration in 2024, the highest nationwide. Townhome product remains underrepresented in the housing pipeline.
• Builder strategy signal. National and regional builders have been pivoting toward attached product in high-growth Southeast metros. This project aligns with that capital reallocation trend.

Market Lens

Angle: Real Estate Demand Signal

The Myrtle Grove townhome proposal is less important as a single project than as a market-positioning indicator. Builders do not deploy capital into missing-middle product in suburban corridors unless absorption data supports it. The decision to pursue 8 units per acre in a single-family-dominated area reflects three converging pressures: rising land costs that make detached homes uneconomical at middle-market price points, demographic inflows skewing toward younger and mid-career households seeking ownership alternatives, and zoning flexibility from a county that appears increasingly willing to approve higher-density residential in traditionally low-density zones.

For site selectors and workforce planners, the downstream question is whether this product type can scale across other suburban corridors in New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender Counties. If it can, the Wilmington MSA gains a critical tool for workforce retention that it currently lacks. If it cannot — due to infrastructure constraints, community opposition, or unfavorable unit economics — the region's housing bottleneck will continue to function as a de facto cap on employment growth.

Investors should watch the Alton Orchard absorption timeline closely. That 51-unit project, already approved, will serve as the market's real-time test of townhome demand in this specific submarket before the larger 72-unit project advances through the rezoning process.

Risks & Watch-Outs

• Rezoning required. The project requires conditional rezoning from R-15 to R-5 — a significant density increase that must clear county approval. This is not yet an approved project.
• Infrastructure capacity is unknown. Adding 72 units to a corridor designed for lower density raises questions about road capacity, water/sewer service, and school enrollment that could delay or downsize the project.
• Community opposition risk. Myrtle Grove residents have historically favored single-family character. The initial proposal for 112 units on 14 acres was already revised down to 72 units on 9 acres, suggesting sensitivity to community concerns. Density-oriented proposals in similar Wilmington-area corridors have faced organized pushback at the planning board level.
• Interest rate sensitivity. Townhome buyers at the $275K–$350K price point (estimated, not confirmed) are among the most rate-sensitive segments. A sustained 7%+ mortgage rate environment could compress absorption velocity and force price concessions.
• No incentive clawback exposure — but also no public subsidy cushion if the project underperforms.
• Construction cost escalation. Lumber, labor, and materials costs in the Cape Fear region remain elevated, and any timeline slippage increases the risk of budget overruns that erode the project's middle-market pricing thesis.