Cape Fear Pride stops in Belville

The town of Belville is in a class all it’s own. It only consists of four square miles with a small population.

Some call it the hole in a donut; the town of Leland surrounds much of Belville.

Belville Mayor Chuck Thurlow said, “Right now we have about 1,300 citizens but with the planned developments that we have that will go up to about 5,000, and that’s as big as we can ever be.”

Belville town officials are hoping to develop what land they do have. Major plans are on the table to build a downtown site for residents with apartments, restaurants and a marina.

The new downtown site will sit on 130 acres of prime real estate. It has taken the past three years for town officials to put plans in motion, encountering many hurdles along the way.

Most recently, the struggling economy has added one more.

Mayor Thurlow said the downtown area should be developed within the next 10 to 15 years. Once complete, it will make the donut hole a little bit more sweet.