A local developer on Monday announced he is walking away from a plan to create new housing on some of the last undeveloped acres along Independence Boulevard in Wilmington.

Dave Spetrino of Wilmington-based PBC Design + Build emailed an update on Monday morning on Midtown Hawthorne, a development that could have included townhomes and apartments, to those interested in the latest information on the project. It would have involved about 20 acres between Park Avenue and Canterbury Road near Independence Mall.

"After much consideration, we have decided to 'move on' from the proposed development of this site. While we recognize our original intent may never have been fully embraced, we believed our initial outreach and willingness to work with the adjacent neighbors to create a design and product mix that could transition into the existing fabric would be achievable," Spetrino wrote. "Instead, we found the community, even clients and associates of our company, conflicted between the expectation of future growth within our region as a whole and the reality of that growth in their own backyards."

Spetrino's plans, which would have required rezonings, sparked the formation of an opposition group, Save Midtown Neighborhoods. The group's Facebook page cited concerns about greenspace destruction and traffic congestion among the reasons why members feel a zoning designation that allows townhomes and apartments would be "irresponsible."

"We're pleased that he's not planning to proceed to try to get a rezoning of the property for a higher density," said Robert Keith, of Save Midtown Neighborhoods and a resident of Country Club Road, on Monday. "We insisted all along and we still feel that it's zoned for single-family residential R-15 and that's what we had hoped it would be developed as."

Keith said the group, which involves about 1,500 participants, will continue to keep an eye on what happens with the property, which is mainly owned by The Oleander Co. Inc.

"We're not anti-development, our group, or anti-business. We thought it was only right that it continued to be developed as it was zoned by the city and all the experts who zoned it that way to start with," Keith said. "So we hope another developer will come along or possibly someone within our group may consider purchasing the land to preserve it as a natural buffer – we don't know yet."

In the emailed statement Monday, Spetrino said, "Please know it was never our intent to create the level of friction or cause for concern amongst our neighbors and friends."