A Wilmington-based builder of houses, townhomes and apartments recently closed on a 130-acre tract on Sidbury Road along the New Hanover County and Pender County line, planning to eventually own more than 1,200 acres in southern Pender for future development.

The 1,200 acres could hold up to 5,000 for-rent and for-sale residential units built over the next 10 years.

McAdams Homes paid $1.5 million to Blakes of Scotts Hill LLC for the 130 acres, the second recent Sidbury Road transaction for the company. A small portion of the land is in New Hanover County.

The purchases are helping McAdams Homes deploy capital from the recent sales of Budget Storage, an apartment community in Lake Wylie and Belle Meade, an apartment complex off Carolina Beach Road in Wilmington.

“As we started to look at and evaluate new opportunities, it became clear that one of the areas we wanted to direct more resources to was southern Pender County,” said Adam Sosne, CEO of McAdams Homes, in an email. “Since building Stephens Pointe Apartments in the Scotts Hill area in 2014, we have seen continued growth here.”

He said Stephens Pointe is often nearly full. 

“Very rarely does it ever get below 97-98% occupied and then when it does, it leases back up,” he said.

Sosne said demand for new affordable housing far outpaces supply.

“Not everyone wants to, or can afford to purchase a $400,000 home or rent an $1,800-per-month apartment. We feel like this is an area that will continue to grow at a rapid pace and is in desperate need of more affordable housing options,” Sosne said.

In September, McAdams Homes closed on more than 74 acres on Sidbury Road near the intersection of U.S. 17. 

“This development, named Silo Ridge, will have a mixture of 315 single-family and townhouse lots,” Sosne said. “We are currently permitting this project and intend to break ground in 2021, with new home sales and rentals starting in 2022.”  

Along with the Silo Ridge site, the 130 acres McAdams Homes bought in December is by the site of the future Blake Farm development.

For both purchases, real estate brokers Glenn Imboden and Allan Fox of Wilmington-based Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners represented the seller.

McAdams Homes currently has 1,030 additional acres under contract “that we intend on purchasing over the next few months. Once these purchases are complete, we will have amassed a little over 1,230 acres in southern Pender County and will start to put together a long-term master plan,” Sosne said. “We anticipate that this will provide the opportunity to develop up to 5,000 new residential for-sale and for-rent units over the next 10 years.” 

He said the firm has not ruled out additional purchases in the area. 

Sosne added, “We are very bullish on the long-term prospects for growth in this area and want to make sure we play a significant role in its development.”