Multiple North Carolina golf properties being repurposed

WILMINGTON, N.C.  — As this seaside city continues to grow, some of the area’s golf courses, driving ranges and other open spaces are being tapped for new subdivisions and apartment complexes.

This trend isn’t unique to Wilmington. Across the U.S., open spaces like golf courses have become a flashpoint between developers who see the land as a prime spot for infill construction and neighboring property owners who often fight for preservation of nearby open spaces.

But as land becomes increasingly scarce in the city of Wilmington and New Hanover County, local leaders and developers continue to highlight the important role infill development. Building on unused or underutilized land within existing development, they say, could play a major role in keeping up with population growth.

From Florida and Cape Cod to New Hanover County, these often-competing interests have clashed as plans for infill development move forward.

Here’s how those debates have played out on a local level in Wilmington:

Echo Farms

One of the biggest examples of a golf-course-turned-subdivision in New Hanover County is in the neighborhood of Echo Farms. A golf course, country club and residential community were developed in the area in the early 1970s.

The golf course no longer exists. In 2016, owner Matrix Development Group announced its plans to close the golf course and build new homes on the site. A collection of Echo Farms residents, many of whom had moved to the neighborhood specifically for the golf course, organized to push back against development plans.

Echo Farms homeowner John Hirchak holds a “Save Echo Farms” in his front yard in Wilmington, N.C., Monday, September 12, 2016.
The residents, in part, saw success as they negotiated the number of townhomes planned for the site from 92 down to 62. Later, Wilmington and New Hanover County joined forces to buy 14 acres of the former course land for $1.7 million, turning the land into Echo Farms Park and Gardens.

Driving ranges transformed

Two former driving ranges in the Wilmington area have also seen new development.

Developer East West Partners is proposing nearly 400 new apartments on the site of a former driving range off of Oleander Drive in Wilmington. The site borders Wilmington Municipal Golf Course and was rezoned for multifamily residential…