Addressing families in need, Brunswick group breaks ground on its first subdivision

Near the end of Highland Hills Drive sits an adjustable, portable basketball hoop. The backboard is dirty, and the net is torn, but – using the road as a court – children in the Leland neighborhood make do.

Soon, however, they’ll be shooting hoops in a safer and more ideal spot – a half-court basketball court that will be constructed as part of a new subdivision just across the street from where they shoot now.

Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity recently broke ground on “Fuller Court,” a 10-home subdivision in Leland dedicated to Habitat for Humanity partner families. The six-acre community, located toward the end of Highland Hills Drive NE, will also include a park and basketball/pickleball court that will be open to the entire Highland Hills community.

“One of the concerns from the community was that this will mean more traffic, it’s already dangerous for our kids to play in the street,” said Carlo Montagano, executive director of Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity. “Well, the good news is they can use this basketball court. It takes them off the street.”

Montagano said the subdivision – which broke ground in December and is currently in the infrastructure phase – is located on the organization's only developable land in Leland.

“Finding available land in Leland is almost impossible,” Montagano said.

Founded 20 years ago in 1993, Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International.

The organization is growing, Montagano said, and on track to complete eight homes by the end of the current fiscal year in June. During the 2024-25 fiscal year, Montagano expects Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity to build 10 homes, a few of which should come from the Fuller Court subdivision.

Fuller Court marks the organization’s first subdivision in the county – historically homes built by Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity have been single homes on individual lots.

Three families, he said, have committed to living in the soon-to-be-constructed subdivision. In addition to income restrictions, there is a list of requirements for a family to be considered for a Habitat for Humanity home, one being that the family must live, work or worship in Brunswick County.

“Habitat families tend to be working single parents, seniors who are aging in place, and 50% of our families are Black, first-time homeowners,” Montagano said.

Nationwide, Montagano said, some 42% of Black families are homeowners, compared to 72% of white families owning their homes. Habitat for Humanity, he said, is working to address that 30% gap by striving to advance Black homeownership.

Habitat for Humanity builds homes with volunteer labor, tax-deductible donations and ReStore proceeds and then sells those homes to partner families with a below-market interest rate.

The homes in Fuller Court, designed by South Carolina-based Moser Design Group, Inc., will vary in size and design, from one story to two stories and two to four bedrooms. Montagano said the homes are “area-appropriate” from a design perspective, meaning they will feel cohesive with what is typically found in the region.

Montagano said the initial vision was to build 20 to 30 homes on the six-acre lot, but the request to rezone the land to a higher density was met with some adverse reactions from the community who argued a tighter density subdivision would not match the rest of the surrounding neighborhood.

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In addition to the sitting green and basketball court, the subdivision could also see a walking trail with access to Sturgeon Creek in the future.

Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity is currently assessing the potential for another subdivision, this one just eight homes and located in Calabash.

“We hope it comes to fruition,” Montagano said. “We’re doing our due diligence there.”

Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter/X @jameybcross.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Brunswick Habitat for Humanity breaks ground on first subdivision