Southern portion of Brunswick County continues to see rapid growth

September 5, 2022

Celeste Smith,

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) —The southern portion of Brunswick County is continuing to see rapid residential and commercial development in the area.

According to the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce, Southport, Oak-Island, and Shallotte have all seen a significant number of people moving to the area, and businesses are following suit.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from comparing populations numbers from April of 2020 to July of 2021, the county saw a 5% population increase.

Susan Freeman, Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, said while there are many big-box retail stores eyeing southern Brunswick County, the area is also luring several small and locally-owned new businesses.

“It’s been a robust last four years, that’s all I can say. Even before COVID, it had been a very active time with Brunswick growing in both business and with folks retiring to the region. So I would say, we have not seen a downward tick of anything,” said Susan Freeman, Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce’s executive director.

Karen Sphar is with the Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce. She named off a list of new businesses slated to open in the area.

“We’ve got everything, from BenchMark is opening up a new physical therapy office, Throw Baxe, so you can get some entertainment with axe throwing, Seaside Dance just opened up yesterday, Beacon 315, Sebby’s, Back 2 Shuckers. So, there’s a large selection of new businesses that are opening up, and not just in one sector,” said Karen Sphar, Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce

While the Town of Shallotte welcomes the growth, Mayor Walter Eccard says he and other leaders are making plans to adapt services to accommodate all the new people moving here.

“This is an exciting time, and it’s also a challenging time, because we have to plan expansion of city services to match the expected growth, and we’re actively engaged in that process that will lead to increased employment in the town staff of both police, fire, and also maintenance,” said Walter Eccard, Shallotte mayor.

In addition to new commercial developments, the chamber of commerce said many of the new businesses coming to the area are also making use of older buildings in business districts across southern Brunswick County.