With plans to add more lots to a Castle Hayne planned development, the company that shelled out $4 million for a sewer connection to their property expects the investment to have a community-wide impact, according to a recent news release.

River Bluffs Development Corp., owned by Wilmington Holding Corporation and Burrows Smith, paid to install a lift station at River Bluffs, a private, 313-acre new-home community in a waterfront section of Castle Hayne. The corporation also paid to lay the six miles of sewer lines required to connect River Bluffs to Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s 23rd Street wastewater treatment plant.

“We financed all of this out-of-pocket because sewer was absolutely necessary to the success of this project. We have such a unique property here at River Bluffs that we were confident the investment was worthwhile,” Smith said in the release. “And now that sewer is available in this area, we hope to see a great deal more development in Castle Hayne, including new homes, retail and commercial projects.”

River Bluffs negotiated a non-standard utility agreement with CFPUA that conveys ownership of the lift station, the six miles of pipe, and sewage capacity to the authority. The new system has a capacity of one million gallons per day, but River Bluffs only requires half of that capacity, leaving a surplus capacity of 500,000 gallons for other projects, the release said.

Over time, River Bluffs is expected to be reimbursed for sewer capacity when other developers tie into the new system at a rate of $4.12 per gallon, according to the release.

“For instance, if a developer had a project that required 100,000 gallons per day, the one-time, upfront cost to tie into the River Bluffs system would be $412,000, payable to River Bluffs,” the release said. Smith said if a developer were to develop their own treatment facility, the sewer capacity could cost between $20 and $25 per gallon, or $2 million to $2.5 million.

He said the company will never recoup all of the money, but the spending “is a great example of how public and private partnerships can be a win-win for everyone involved, but most of all but most of all, for the community of Castle Hayne.”

Smith said that in the short-term, the company expects property values to rise as a result of the sewer connection, and in the long-term, more sewer connections in Castle Hayne.

Currently, the company's planned development consists of Rosewood Landing, which includes 200 one-story brick homes ranging in size from 1,900 to 2,900 square feet with prices that range from $304,500 to $469,500; and River Bluffs, with 400 custom homes priced from $350,000 to more than $800,000.

More lots are in the works, and 105 could be added to the River Bluffs Phase 3 plans, located at the western end of Chair Road, if county officials approve a request made by Norris & Tunstall Inc. for Chair Road Associates/River Bluffs Development. The request is on the agenda of the county Technical Review Committee’s meeting Sept. 9 at the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 Government Center Drive.