New retail, restaurants, traffic headed for Belville

BELVILLE, NC (WWAY) — A new shopping center is heading to Belville.

As the construction on 17/74/76/ continues to widen that road, more construction begins on 133 near the overpass.

Leland resident Amanda McCormick says the frustrating traffic on 17/74/76 continues.
“Needless to say,” McCormick said.

Lately she says she’s seen a difference.

“I think most people have begun to get used to it and the flow of things,” McCormick said. “It’s really where 133 merges onto 17.”

Some new construction on 133 at Blackwell Road is not road work. Leland council member Patricia Batleman says Blue Sky Services is preparing their land across from the Belville ABC store for five retail shops. The shopping strip will be called Bellville Commons. McCormick says the area needs it.

“Because we are growing,” McCormick said.

Batleman says Urban Smart Growth also plans to build a 114 unit apartment complex on River Road. Belville plans to add more retail and a restaurant to the Brunswick River Park. McCormick says that is good news.

“We don’t really have a variety,” McCormick said.

McCormick says that sometimes leads to the traffic frustrations.

“People are having to go in and out of Wilmington to have a nice dinner,” McCormick said. “So, there again depending on what time you want to go you run into the rush hour traffic.”

Batleman says this construction may cause more traffic but she says it’s good traffic, because the area is growing economically. McCormick says they just have to be patient as the construction, the traffic, and the growth continues.

“Be patient, leave a little early, let the amount of people that are here get in and everything will works itself out,” McCormick said.

Batleman says there will also be a diverging diamond in that area, but construction for that won’t start until this summer.