This Week Around Wilmington: Leland Growth Plans and a Triathlon

Host: Alright, welcome back to Real Stories with Buddy Blake! Buddy, every week you bring me this stack of local news and I swear it's never boring. What do we got this time?

Buddy Blake: Yeah, it's a good mix this week — growth, government stuff, water quality, and then just a ton of things to actually go do around town. Little bit of everything.

Host: Okay let's start with growth because I know that's your bread and butter. What's happening out by Leland?

Buddy Blake: So Brunswick County News is reporting the Brunswick County Planning Board is holding a public hearing on this thing called the South Cape Planned Development. It's off River Road Northeast near Leland, and we're talking five hundred nineteen single-family units plus two hundred thirty townhomes.

Host: Whoa. That's a lot of new houses in one spot.

Buddy Blake: It really is. And look, that's exactly why I keep an eye on stuff like this before I ever sit down with a seller in Leland. Growth like that shapes your schools, your traffic patterns, home values — it doesn't happen overnight, but it happens.

Host: So if somebody owns property near there, or they're thinking about buying in that area, this is worth paying attention to?

Buddy Blake: Absolutely. If you're weighing a move in that direction, give me a call, my team and I can talk through what a project like this might actually mean for your specific street.

Host: Good to know. Okay, switching gears completely — I saw something about a triathlon causing road closures?

Buddy Blake: Yeah, this one's fun. Port City Daily's reporting more than fourteen hundred athletes are competing in the forty-sixth annual YMCA Wrightsville Beach Sprint Triathlon.

Host: Forty-sixth annual? That's a long tradition.

Buddy Blake: It really is. But if you live near Wrightsville Beach or you commute through there, heads up — expect delays along Oleander and Airlie roads from six-thirty to ten-thirty Saturday morning. Plan around it.

Host: Good tip. Now, what's this about Thalian Hall getting funding?

Buddy Blake: Yeah this is a big one for downtown. Port City Daily reported Wilmington City Council approved three-point-five million dollars for renovations at Thalian Hall, and the New Hanover Community Endowment is matching that with an equal amount.

Host: So that's seven million total going into Thalian Hall?

Buddy Blake: That's right. And Thalian Hall's been a downtown anchor for a long time, so investment like this matters for anybody who cares about the character of downtown Wilmington. Civic projects like this tend to support property values in the surrounding blocks over time too.

Host: That makes sense — it's like a vote of confidence in the whole area. Okay, now there was something about a settlement over water quality?

Buddy Blake: Yeah, this one's important if you're in Brunswick County. Brunswick County News is reporting the county joined the State of North Carolina and other local entities in a five hundred ninety million dollar group settlement with Chemours over PFAS contamination. Brunswick County itself is receiving ninety-five million.

Host: Wow, ninety-five million just to the county. Water quality's been a real concern out there for a while, right?

Buddy Blake: For years, yeah. So this is worth following whether you already live there or you're considering a move to that side of the river.

Host: Alright, let's lighten it up — what's going on around town for things to actually do this weekend?

Buddy Blake: Oh, there's a lot. WWAY NewsChannel 3's got a whole roundup — there's a benefit concert, a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, a movie night aboard the Battleship North Carolina, and an Oktoberfest celebration over in Carolina Beach.

Host: Movie night on the Battleship? That's such a cool setting.

Buddy Blake: Right? And if you've got kids, the Cape Fear Museum's got a new planetarium show called 'Back from the Brink,' that's September twenty-seventh, three to four in the afternoon. Nice indoor option.

Host: Anything for the outdoorsy folks?

Buddy Blake: If you're a mountain biker, just know Big Branch Bike Park is closing select trails to the general public Saturday the twenty-sixth for the Coastal Carolina Offroad Race Series. So don't show up planning a normal ride that day.

Host: Good to know before you drive all the way out there.

Buddy Blake: Exactly. And for families, there's a 4-H STEM Day on the twenty-sixth at the county's Extension office on Oleander Drive — hands-on, educational, and free. Then out in Burgaw, CFCC's hosting their second annual Career Connections Hiring Networking Event on the twenty-eighth at the historic Burgaw Train Station.

Host: That's a neat venue for it.

Buddy Blake: It really is. And last one — Recess at the Lake is back Sunday at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater, second year running. They've added an inaugural 5K this time, and it's tied to a five-thousand-dollar donation. Good mix of fitness and community.

Host: Man, that's a packed week. Growth out by Leland, road closures for the triathlon, big money moving into Thalian Hall, the PFAS settlement, and then just a ton of stuff to actually get out and do. Buddy, this was great as always.

Buddy Blake: Always is. And hey, if any of this touches a neighborhood you're watching — Leland, Wrightsville Beach, downtown — just give me a call or text, nine-one-oh, three-nine-five, one-thousand. Happy to talk it through.

Host: And we'll link the full article with all the sources in the show notes. Thanks for hanging out with us, we'll catch you next week!