Riptide Builders, a home builder and developer based in Sunset Beach, closed recently on the purchase of Sunrise Corporate Development Holdings LLC, which owns the remaining undeveloped land in the southern Brunswick County community of Sea Trail.

That's according to an announcement for Riptide Builders from Pioneer Strategies.

The financial details of the transaction, which included 221 acres and 19 tracts, were not disclosed. Chinaway Corporate Development LLC will maintain ownership of the Sea Trail golf courses, a news release stated.

All of the land will be planned and developed for single family or multi-family homes, according to an email from Emma Ericksen, public relations assistant with Pioneer Strategies.

"Development plans are in progress," the email stated, adding that Riptide plans  "to have the majority of the project developed and built by 2025. The first project to be developed is tracts 4 and 5 which they are calling Byrd Watch. That will comprise of 49 golf course lots. They expect to be pushing dirt on those in the first quarter of 2021." 

Founded in 2009, Riptide Builders is co-owned by Robert Hill and Donald Bean.

“We live in Sunset Beach and have been actively building in Sea Trail for several years, and we have family and friends who live in Sea Trail,” said Hill in the release. “We are committed to improving upon an already great community by adding quality homes in conjunction with a high-quality land plan. We look to expand upon the current amenities in Sea Trail to service the future development.

"Sea Trail is a declarant-controlled community, and with this transaction the community will have a declarant that is based right here in Sunset Beach. We look forward to maintaining a positive working relationship with the homeowners as we move forward.”

Riptide has an operations office and a design center in Sunset Beach and has staffed model homes in several local communities, including Sea Horse Estates within Sea Trail.

The company builds between 60 and 80 homes each year, the release stated, and has a staff of between 15 and 20 employees in Brunswick County.