What's Opening on Brunswick Forest's Stretch of US-17, and When

"Across from Brunswick Forest." That is how the StarNews described the location of the Publix-anchored shopping center under construction on US-17 in its April 2026 report. The phrase is short, but it explains where things are heading. For almost a decade, new errands and new places to eat on this part of US-17 opened at Leland Town Center. That center is close to full. The next round of everyday stops, including groceries, breakfast, ice cream and pet supplies, is going up across the highway.

Here is how both sides look as of October 2026, which dates are confirmed, and which ones are still open questions.

Leland Town Center is almost full

Leland Town Center started with ALDI in late 2017 and has added businesses every year since. In its September 29 report on the center, the StarNews said it is now in its final stages. Much of the center is managed by C&S Commercial Properties, a Fayetteville-based real estate company.

Current tenants include Lowe's Home Improvement, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Dunkin', Firehouse Subs, Eggs Up Grill, Al's Burger Shack, Mavis Tires & Brakes, 7-Eleven, HotWorx 24-Hr Infrared Fitness Studio, Hall of Fame Car Wash, Lavish Nails, Alliance Animal Health, AT&T and Dental Care. The paper also reported that at the busiest hours, the Starbucks drive-thru line wraps around the building.

According to C&S Commercial Properties, the center has only two vacant parcels left, about five acres in total. Here is what is planned or proposed for that remaining land:

1. Texas Roadhouse. This will be the first Texas Roadhouse in Brunswick County. Site work was visible in September 2026 across from Mavis Tires & Brakes. The StarNews reported in April that Leland staff had approved the project after about a year of waiting.
2. Atlantic Union Bank. The Town of Leland conditionally approved plans in September for a branch off Gateway Boulevard, on the parcel next to Texas Roadhouse.
3. A possible small retail center off Tradeway Drive, also next to Texas Roadhouse, appears on the master site plan.
4. A hotel and commercial area is shown on the same plan for the roughly 3-acre parcel behind Lowe's.

None of these has a published opening date. Texas Roadhouse had an earlier 2026 target, but the September coverage showed construction, not an opening. Two of the four are a bank and a hotel, which serve visitors and transactions more than daily routines. If a new grocery store, breakfast spot or pet store comes to this part of US-17, there is no room left for it at Leland Town Center.

The gym that was built and never opened

One building at Leland Town Center shows that a finished structure does not mean a business is about to open. The O2 Fitness Signature facility at 4139 Holden Loop was fully built in June 2025. In StarNews photos dated Sept. 21, 2026, the building was still closed, and the lot across the street was still vacant and available.

That is about 15 months of "coming soon." The StarNews looked into it in May. The reasons given over time included waiting on supplies and flooring, then finishing equipment and flooring. An O2 Fitness employee told the paper there was "a lot of work behind the scenes," with no schedule attached. The same caution applies to every date further down this page. A building going up and doors opening can be a year apart.

Across the highway, Leland Village is much bigger

Leland Village is going up at US-17 and the proposed Kingsbridge Road. It's a nearly 132,000-square-foot center developed by Atlanta-based Branch Properties with Columbia Properties. The developers closed on a 25-acre site in spring 2025 for $3.7 million, with the retail planned on about 17 of those acres. Branch Properties also owns and manages Waterford Village in Leland, which is part of why it wanted this project.

Leland Town Center grew one parcel at a time over nine years. Leland Village will open largely as a finished center. In May 2025, about 80% of its space was pre-leased. After 11 new leases were announced in August 2026, WilmingtonBiz reported that it was 93% leased.

Here is the announced tenant list, grouped by the kind of trip each one replaces:

Leland Town Center's remaining land is going to a steakhouse, a bank and possibly a hotel. Leland Village's list covers daily routines: a grocery store, a breakfast restaurant, a pet store and a Pilates studio. In an announcement quoted by WilmingtonBiz, Branch Properties partner Brett Horowitz called the mix "a true one-stop shopping destination." WECT's August 25 update listed the same new tenants and said the center is expected to open in early 2027.

Early 2027 is a later date than first planned

When the land closed in May 2025, Branch Properties president Jesse Shannon said construction would start in late July or early August 2025 and take about 14 months. That pointed to roughly this month. The published target is now Publix "early next year," meaning early 2027. For a shopping center this size, a few months of slippage is not unusual, and the StarNews reported construction visible from US-17 back in April.

No individual opening dates have been published for First Watch, Handel's, Marshalls or the other tenants. "Early 2027" is the center's timeline and Publix's. Each shop could open on its own schedule after that.

The new traffic signal

Leland Village also changes how you get on and off US-17 in this area. When the land deal closed, Branch Properties said it planned to spend $3.8 million on off-site infrastructure, including a new traffic signal and curb cuts. Mike Brown, a senior vice president at Cape Fear Commercial, worked on the transaction. He told WilmingtonBiz the entrance drive and road improvements were critical for access to the rest of the property, which is part of a nearly 450-acre tract owned by members of the Goodman family.

That means Leland Village probably won't be the last thing built on that side of US-17. The center provides the entrance road for a much larger piece of land behind it.

Kingsbridge Road itself is still described as "proposed." The Town of Leland's July 2025 Integrated Mobility Plan lists a Kingsbridge Road Extension between US-17 and the existing end of Kingsbridge Road as a medium-priority recommendation. That's a planning priority. It isn't a construction schedule, and no completion date has been published. It's also a separate project from the Brunswick Village Boulevard North Extension through Jackey's Creek, which has its own planned US-17 entrance and roundabout.

What's confirmed, and what isn't

Here is where each project stood as of the most recent local reporting:

• Open now at Leland Town Center: the tenants listed above, from Lowe's and ALDI to Eggs Up Grill and Al's Burger Shack.
• Under construction, no date: Texas Roadhouse. Site work was underway in September 2026.
• Conditionally approved, no date: Atlantic Union Bank off Gateway Boulevard.
• On the master plan only: a small retail center off Tradeway Drive and a hotel and commercial area behind Lowe's.
• Built but closed: O2 Fitness at 4139 Holden Loop, closed as of Sept. 21, 2026.
• Expected early 2027: Leland Village and its Publix, with the rest of the tenant list to follow on dates not yet announced.

In December 2025, StarNews reporting on Brunswick County growth said residents see a gap between the businesses coming in and the ones they want. Leland Village's list is mostly national chains. It does add several everyday categories this part of US-17 doesn't have yet, including a Publix, a First Watch and the first Handel's in the Wilmington area. All of them are going in across the highway, at the new signal.

When a new grocery store and a new traffic signal open across the road from your neighborhood, buyers start asking about it at showings. If you'd like to know how Leland Village and the Leland Town Center buildout might affect what your Brunswick Forest home is worth in 2027, The Warwick Team can walk you through the numbers. Get a free home valuation and local market consultation.