Developers could break ground on a new community in Surf City by this summer.

That’s the hope of those working on Waterside, a neighborhood that would be built on the mainland of Surf City along N.C. 50, stretching from the intersection of N.C. 210 and N.C. 50 toward the Surf City bridge. 

Waterside will likely be mostly single-family homes with the potential for multifamily components on about 240 acres of land, said Livian Jones, a development consultant who represents the owner and developer, Coterra. Although permitted for up to 2,200 homes, Waterside would more likely hold about 1,000 homes, but those plans are not set in stone, Jones said.

“We really are waiting to see what the market wants. We’re doing a lot of research to see what’s selling up there and what other product is there and not selling,” she said.

The first phase would likely involve about 100 homes, with Coterra expecting to submit plans for that phase to town planning officials in the coming weeks, Jones said recently.

Surf City has been experiencing growth, including a new bridge under construction by the N.C. Department of Transportation that’s set to be complete by 2019, and a Publix grocery store on the way to the Arboretum at Surf City on the northeast corner of N.C. 210 and N.C. 50.

The 45,000-square-foot Publix is expected to open in 2018 and employ 140, a Publix spokeswoman announced in December.

The Publix is an example of what Jones sees as a trend for the town and surrounding portions of Pender County.

“There seems to be a lot of energy and optimism about that area and growth happening,” Jones said.

The new neighborhood could increase Surf City’s population by more than 50 percent, said Chuck Strickland, executive director of the Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce. The combined permanent population of Surf City, Topsail Beach, North Topsail Beach and Holly Ridge is about 4,500 people, which swells to more than 60,000 in the summer, according to some estimates.

Strickland said a development like Waterside could help bring in new businesses and foster healthy competition, as well as grow the town’s tax base.