Another large-scale apartment complex could soon become part of Wilmington’s growing multifamily housing development boom.
Columbus, Ga.-based Flournoy Development recently submitted an application to voluntarily annex nearly 27 acres into the Port City.

Planning staff moved forward with the annexation application, since under state law the property must fall within three miles of Wilmington’scity limits.

The development — titled Amberleigh Shores — is within 2.6 miles of the city limits.

Tom Johnson, an attorney with Raleigh-based Nexsen-Pruet representing Flournoy Development, said the firm has plans to construct a 280-unit, luxury apartment community on the property fronting North Market Street.

Flournoy Development constructs and manages more than 3,500 apartment units across the South, including in South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia.

If Wilmington city leaders grant the annexation and proper zoning, it would be the company’s first North Carolina multifamily development.

Johnson said the company began exploring annexation into the city after being approached by city officials shortly after New Hanover County Commissioners voted 3-2 in March against a rezoning that would have made the development possible.

“The city indicated that they wanted the development,” Johnson said. “Wilmington has a demand for new apartments, and this development would be advantageous for the city to meet that growing demand.”

Johnson said the company believes by having the land annexed into Wilmington the development would have a better — and faster — chance of being constructed.

“We’ve been working with the planning staff on any issues, and we have a commitment for funding for this project,” Johnson said.

The annexation must first clear the city’s planning commission this month. If given the green light by the commission, the item would then go before the city council for approval for permanent annexation.

Flournoy’s request for annexation comes during a time when the development firm is still battling county commissioners in court for rejecting its initial plans last spring.

The development firm sued the county in April after commissioners denied their rezoning request from commercial to residential on two occasions — once in December 2010, and again March 2011 — under claims the apartment complex would make traffic woes along Market Street worse. After considering both claims — including the New Hanover County Planning Board’s Dec. 6, 2010, decision to grant the rezoning 5-0, and a planning staff member’s testimony that the zoning change would not place additional traffic strains on the roadway as described by county commissioners — a judge ruled in favor of Flournoy Development. However, the county appealed the court’s decision in October, and the matter remains in limbo.

But that could change if Wilmington city leaders agree to annex the property.

Johnson said if the land is annexed into Wilmington by the city council, the legal matter with the county would be dropped.

“It would no longer become a county issue,” Johnson said. “The land would fall within the city.”

As single-family development in Wilmington continues to thaw from the chilling affects of the housing crash and the Great Recession, more multifamily developments could be on track for the area.

Officials with Roanoke, Va.-based University Housing Group announced plans last month to construct a 228-unit, student housing apartment community on 14 acres along Randall Parkway near the University of North Carolina Wilmington by the fall of 2012.

Wilmington-based Tribute Properties — which constructs and manages apartment communities throughout the Carolinas, including 13 complexes in greater Wilmington — also plans to complete renovations to the former Nesbitt Housing Project along South Second Street, bringing on board 216 units by the first quarter of 2012.

The new developments also come at a time when rents and occupancy rates are soaring throughout the area.

According to Apartment Index — a Charlotte-based data firm that tracks multifamily housing trends and occupancy rates in major Southeast U.S. markets — Wilmington renters are now paying an average of $716 a month for an apartment; that’s up from $683 a month this time last year.

The city’s occupancy rates are also shrinking.

Last year, Wilmington posted a 92.2 percent occupancy rate for its apartment complexes; so far this year, that rate has now increased to 94.3 percent, according to Apartment Index records.