Beechwood Apartments Grows to 168 Units Near Virginia Road

Edenton Town Council returns Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 to a rental project it has already approved once, this time larger and in a different spot. Edenton Holding LLC is seeking a new major special use permit for Beechwood Apartments that would raise the development from 144 to 168 units and move it closer to the Virginia Road commercial corridor, directly behind the shopping center that contains Food Lion.

The increase is 24 units, or nearly 17 percent, on roughly 20.7 acres. Plans call for one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, a clubhouse, a swimming pool and 316 parking spaces. The developer is SAGA. The earlier plan arranged 12 apartment buildings with 12 units each; the revised application changes the layout and the site, which is why the council has to review it a second time. The council approved the original 144-unit proposal in October 2025 on a 4-1 vote, after months of argument over traffic, neighborhood compatibility and infrastructure.

That earlier approval does not carry over. Members have to test the relocated, larger project against the town’s special use permit standards on its own terms.

One item in the staff report is a permitting gap rather than a design objection. The stormwater permit tied to the earlier development has expired. Staff recommends requiring updated authorization from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality before any land-disturbing work begins, plus revised engineering plans and confirmation that water and sewer capacity can serve the project. The Planning Board unanimously recommended approval on Oct. 5, 2026.

The same agenda also carries another land decision. Edenton Development Company II LLC is requesting a major special use permit to divide about 1.92 acres from a larger commercially zoned tract on Whitemon Lane.

What this means for Edenton buyers and sellers

Rental supply on the Virginia Road corridor is the part of this that reaches owners of single-family homes. Twenty-four additional apartments at one site is a small number in a metro market and a visible one in a town this size, especially when the site moves toward the retail anchor rather than staying where it was originally approved.

For buyers, the change is about what they inherit as neighbors. An apartment community behind a Food Lion shopping center means traffic entering and leaving at the same curb cuts that serve the grocery store. The 316 parking spaces tell you the plan expects two cars per unit, so the traffic picture is not a guess.

For sellers, the useful fact is that the town is requiring fresh stormwater authorization before dirt moves. An expired permit on a project that has sat for a year is normal paperwork, not a signal of a failing development, but it means the permit the council grants is the one that governs construction, and the conditions attached to it are worth reading before a nearby parcel is listed.

The Whitemon Lane request is smaller and points the same direction. A commercial tract being split for separate use is what a growing retail corridor looks like from the inside.

What to watch

• Whether the stormwater condition is written into the permit as a condition, or only noted as staff comment. The difference determines what happens if the developer starts grading early.
• The water and sewer capacity finding. Staff wants confirmation before land disturbance, and that confirmation is the document that shows the town has the utility headroom for 168 units.
• Traffic on Virginia Road, which is the objection the council heard the first time around.
• Whether both items move on the same night, since a second approval in the same corridor changes the cumulative picture.

Sources and assumptions

Source: Albemarle Observer, “Edenton to weigh data center rules as nearby counties pause development,” published Oct. 25, 2026, reporting on the Oct. 26, 2026 Town Council agenda packet and staff report, and the Oct. 5, 2026 Planning Board recommendation.

Assumptions: unit counts, acreage, amenity list and parking figures are as described in the revised application and may change in the final approved plan. The expired stormwater permit is reported from the staff report and was not independently verified with Chowan County or the town. Statements about resale and rental effects are the informed opinion of an automated system, not legal, appraisal or financial advice.