CNNMoney.com

Nestled between the Cape Fear River and North Carolina's Inner Bank beaches, Wilmington has great golf, mild weather, natural beauty and a relatively cheap cost of living, all of which make it popular with both permanent residents and second-home vacationers.

But it hasn't always been this way. It was an isolated backwater until 1990, when the final 120-mile stretch of I-40 opened. Now the Research Triangle's well-heeled tech workers can be at the beach in three hours.

As the only city of any significant size on the North Carolina coast, Wilmington may be just at the beginning of its boom. It has a seaport, an international airport and a UNC campus. But it has also maintained its "historic" ambience, bringing it another revenue stream: Hollywood has filmed 180 features here during the past two decades.

In May 2001, Porters Neck was named one of the 100 Best Master Planned Communities in America by Where to Retire Magazine.

Letter from the Editor, May 29, 2001

Dear Mr. Donaldson:

Congratulations! It is my pleasure to inform you that Where to Retire magazine has named Porters Neck Plantation as one of the 100 Best Master Planned Communities in America.

Your development has earned its place within this elite group of companies that is helping to create an active and fulfilling lifestyle for the 21st century.

Where to Retire recognizes the positive contributions that each of our 100 Best makes to the quality of life for its residents and to the economic health of the towns and cities in which they are located.

I extend to you and your employees my heartfelt congratulations and wish you continued success in the future.

Sincerely,
R. Alan Fox
Editor & Publisher, Where to Retire

Porters Neck was awarded the distinction of being one of the top thirty communities in the south.

Top 30 Communities in the South
Living Southern Style Magazine
Porters Neck Plantation: Wilmington, NC

On land that was once the site of a historic peanut plantation in the 1800s, some of the finest golf, tennis and country club living imaginable can be enjoyed at Porters Neck Plantation in Wilmington, NC.

Originally part of a royal land grant from King George II, extraordinary homes and homesites are situated on this 650 acres of pristine, lush coastal land adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway. A lifestyle of simple pleasures and natural beauty is embraced here.

Spend your days enjoying the championship 18-hole golf course designed by Tom Fazio and ranked Number 1 on the North Carolina coast by "Golf Digest."

If you prefer, swim laps in two sparkling pools or smash a serve on the hydro-clay surface tennis courts. Porters Neck Plantation also boasts a fully equipped Sports center offering Cybex exercise equipment, personal training and wellness programs.

Relax with family, friends and neighbors in the 18th Century Federal-style clubhouse, and experience southern hospitality at its finest.

Award-winning home designs are commonplace at Porters Neck Plantation, where homeowners can select sites with panoramic views of the fairways, lakes and marsh.

Home styles range from traditional Colonial to European-inspired designs, including custom homes, patio homes and townhomes.

The private, gated community offers residents' access to the Intracoastal Waterway, where you can savor a sunset from your sailboat or simply enjoy an afternoon of fishing, clamming or crabbing.

Porters Neck Country Club is committed to members' enjoyment with a superb activities schedule that includes travel clubs-you'll love the Adventurers cruises-and a calendar chock-full of special events and parties such as old timey Downeast "pig-pickings" and seasonal lobster fests and shrimp-a-roo's.

Located just minutes from historic downtown Wilmington and its renowned mix of art galleries, theaters, museums, gourmet restaurants and unique boutiques, Porters Neck Plantation is "The lifestyle you want. The location you desire."

Porters Neck: Preserving Tradition and Forging a Future
Cape Fear New Homes Guide

The ancient stone entrance to the original land tract sets the tone at Porters Neck Plantation for both the country club and the community. The developers have refurbished this monument and improved the mile-long drive to the community gates to create a softly winding street draped with leafy oaks, dogwoods and pines whose leaves and needles cascade overhead. To preserve the distinctively antebellum ambiance of this drive, Porters Neck Company chose early to not offer homesites along this entrance-instead allowing everyone coming to Porters Neck to enjoy the old southern charm of a long, tree lined drive.

The community's white-washed brick Gatehouse, Sports Center and the soon-to-be-completed Clubhouse continue the feeling established by the romantic approach to the community. Within Porters Neck neighborhoods you'll find stunning new homes with wide, southern-styled porches occupied by residents who have grown accustomed to the Plantation's conviviality.

"We're trying to preserve the genteel, southern hospitality of the area," Developer John Elmore explains. "We want to create oldtime neighborhoods where there is a lot of social interaction. Porches for example, were once integral parts of peoples' lifestyles and we think that's worth preserving."

Porters Neck Plantation and Country Club offers a planned community of 850-acres developed for new homes, featuring an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Tom Fazio, a Sports Center with clay tennis courts, a heated lap pool, a larger competition pool, and a 20,000 square foot clubhouse which is currently under construction.

Fifty-seven percent of the current residents are from North Carolina, and the balance are a diverse group who came from throughout the country. With an eclectic mix of youth and age, families and singles, professionals and retirees, children and pets, Porters Neck has a real sense of community that is sometimes lacking in other residential developments.

Winning awards in recognition of the quality in planning, design, materials and craftsmanship evidenced throughout the community is a strong tradition at Porters Neck. Neighborhoods such as Champions Row, Masters Ridge, Village On Five and the newest, Hunters Green, all specialize in presenting award-winning villas, village homes and club homes constructed by Porters Neck Company.

New homes range in size from 1,770 square feet to over 3,000, and complementing exterior elevations of brick, cedar shake or beaded cedar siding are selected to assure pleasing streetscapes.

Porters Neck golf course was selected the # 1 Coastal Golf Course in North Carolina in 1995 in national magazine Golf Digest. Porters Neck also hosted what is hoped to be the first of many sanctioned Professional Golf Association (PGA) events, the North Carolina Open, during the year. As John Elmore notes, a Tom Fazio designed golf course is an impressive drawing card.

"Fazio is like a modern-day Donald Ross," Elmore says. "He built a classic, old-style golf course. Everything is laid out in front of you. When you as a developer go into something like building a course, you give a man your land and your money, and then you hope and pray it turns out well. What Fazio delivered at Porters Neck far exceeded our greatest expectations."

With a thoughtful and considered attitude that embraces both the slow, easy old southern ways and the vibrant, progressive approach characteristic of the New South, Porters Neck is preserving tradition and forging a future-perhaps for you.