Weyerhaeuser plans housing, hotel on tract of nearly 800 acres

The real estate branch of Weyerhaeuser plans a nearly 600-acre development with a thousand residential units, shopping and a hotel near the N.C. 43 connector to U.S. 70 in New Bern.

The area has always been part of the company's long-range development plans, said Taylor Downey, manager of community development for Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company in the Southeast. But the state Department of Transportation's roadwork to take heavy truck traffic off Glenburnie Road and Neuse Boulevard has moved the development project along, he said.

"That area used to be timberland until N.C. DOT decided to extend its connector," Downey said. "So that certainly moved this up on our development radar. At that point, we decided to work closely with the city of New Bern to come up with a plan that is compatible with its ETJ (extraterritorial jurisdiction)."

The mixed-use development calls for houses, "patio homes" and townhouses. It also has a 35-acre site for apartments. It will include significant green space and several bike trails.

"It's hard to talk to (planner) Mike Avery for five minutes and still come away with a project that doesn't have bike trails in it," Downey said.

The hotel is planned near the intersection of N.C. 43 and U.S 70 because that will be "lots of people's first exit to New Bern," he said.

Downey said he doesn't know what hotel franchise might go there, but he expects it would be something that appeals to business and leisure travelers.

"It might be a Marriott type or something similar," he said.

Downey said Weyerhaeuser has "an affection" for the Sheraton, but he doesn't know if the franchise would allow two of its hotels to be so close together. He said Weyerhaeuser used to put people up at the Sheraton downtown when the company was courting prospective buyers for Taberna and Greenbrier, its other planned communities in the city.

But he said there have been "absolutely no" discussions with anyone affiliated with the downtown Sheraton.

The commercial piece of Weyerhaeuser's development calls for a "town center" that includes shopping - but Downey balks at the notion that it is a strip mall.

"There is lots of green space there," he said. "It's a place where people can walk and enjoy."

Plans call for a single "big box" store in the town center- "I'd like a Bass Pro Shop," Downey says - and then other retail stores.

"We're looking at something with retail space on the bottom and loft-style living on top," he said. "It's a building that's two or three stories, no high-rises."

The city's Planning and Zoning Board will get its first look at the plans next week.

Downey would not put a dollar figure on the project, saying that it too early to tell.

"We need to get a few more things nailed down before we offer numbers," he said. "We need to get things a little bit more designed."