Hearthstone in Leland is an example of a neighborhood that has risen from the ashes of the Great Recession.

“We brought it back from the dead,” said Shawn Horton, owner of Trusst Builder Group. “Twelve homes were built by a different builder before it was foreclosed on. We bought the property, cleaned it up and brought it back. We’ve sold over 100 homes. There will be close to 150 homes when the final phase is finished.”

For Horton, ensuring the success of the subdivision, situated off Lanvale Road, also meant following through with plans made by the initial developer.

“The original developer promised a pool, so we went in and built a pool and a bathhouse almost right away, and we worked with the town and got the infrastructure needed,” he said.

The driving factors to the success of Brunswick County’s neighborhoods can revolve around the type of lifestyle residents hope to live. Even as some developments stalled during the recession, others forged ahead in the downturn.

“Places like Brunswick Forest, Compass Pointe and St. James Plantation have that lifestyle that folks are looking for, and developers met those commitments and spent marketing dollars in our state and out of state so that more and more people come here,” Horton said. “Communities continue to pop up, and our area has grown very successfully as a result.”

While 2018 comes on the heels of the Great Recession’s 10-year anniversary, the Cape Fear region has been in recovery mode. Although some real estate investors and developers lost everything, many in Brunswick County thrived despite the downturn.

“If you compare our growth to other places where the growth went down, we still grew, even during the recession. We did very well in comparison to other places,” said Kirstie Dixon, Brunswick County’s planning director.

Brunswick County’s population grew nearly 74 percent between the years 2000 and 2016, about 18 percent from 2010 to 2016, according to U.S. Census figures.

The rapid growth – picking back up again in the recovery – plays a role in the county’s development, with many retirees choosing to move there.

“Countywide, about 30 percent are over 65 years old, and only 16 percent are under 18,” Dixon said. “The median age of the county is 50.” That’s compared to the statewide median age of 38 years old.

The area’s relative affordability in comparison to other states lends a hand in its popularity in spite of recession-related strife elsewhere.

That’s how Sallye and Dan Neizmik ended up buying their home in the Hearthstone community.

“We moved from the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, and it’s been great. It’s a great little community, and the people are really nice, very friendly,” Sallye Neizmik said.

Getting the most for their money is important for those heading into retirement, according to Horton.

“This area is driven by retirement and tourism. Folks take a vacation down here, they like it and they decide to retire here,” he said. “During those times (of recession) our growth hasn’t been so dependent on job creation, it has been people coming into retirement. Retirees spend less moving than they would have if the recession hadn’t hit. Instead of $500,000, they’ve spent $350,000.”

Changes to what customers want from their communities have taken hold in the building community.

The recession caused more potential homeowners to want to downsize. Generational changes also have shifted the focus of homeownership.

“People want smaller lots, smaller homes. This was not planned prior to the recession but really had an effect on that,” Dixon said. “Society changed as a whole, and there’s generational changes. Millennials don’t want big lots or big houses. They are the generation that made tiny houses popular, after all. And seniors are the same way.”

While single-family homes are on the rise in Brunswick County in many cases, apartments have also cropped up and are popular with seniors. In fact, apartment complexes slated for development already have waiting lists of one to two years in Brunswick County right now, Dixon said.

Environmental consciousness is also trending among potential homeowners, and Brunswick County’s work with environmental groups such as N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Green Growth Toolbox is helping to guide growth in a way that conserves wildlife and natural resources.

The county’s Unified Development Ordinance encourages developers to take advantage of exceptional designs that work to encourage walkability and keep development out of flood zones.

In Brunswick County, as in other parts of the area and state, residents are preferring to work and shop closer to where they live.

“Zoning has significantly changed over the last 30 to 40 years. Traditional zoning separated uses and did not allow the mixture of uses,” Dixon said. “Today, we encourage a mixture of uses, so if you have a business, you may live next door to it, and we encourage new developments to have multiple housing types and commercial uses so that residents do not have to drive as far.”

Although the proximity of Wilmington or Myrtle Beach is important for some homeowners, not all residents of Brunswick County demand it. As a result, growth has spread across the county.

“We have been able to be successful by listening to what the buyer wanted and design homes and neighborhoods based on what the customer wanted,” Horton said. “Customers did not all want to be in the same place; they wanted a variety of places. So we have spread out and covered more geography. Our business model has changed, and job sites have become more efficient, and we do a good job in different areas.”

Home affordability and jobs are both issues that Dixon and Horton agree will present challenges for the county moving ahead.

“Workforce housing is definitely going to be an issue,” Dixon said. “And jobs. We need good, high-paying jobs.”

From the developer’s perspective, a labor shortage might play a role in any future success the county may see.

The challenge “right now, is labor shortage, labor costs and material costs,” Horton said. “Our biggest goal is to maintain a good value, and if costs get too high, it gets difficult to do.”

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