What makes a Disney development? 4 takeaways on NC’s planned ‘Storyliving’ community

Disney announced Wednesday that its second Storyliving brand community is coming to the not-so-small-world of Chatham Park.

Planning is underway, and Disney Imagineers and Arizona-based developer DMB Development could host potential homebuyers by 2027, they said. The first Storyliving by Disney community, in Rancho Mirage, California, has a waiting list for pre-sales in 2024.

Chatham County’s 1,500-acre Asteria community will be built in Pittsboro — a fast-growing town in the Triangle area. It will have 4,000 single-family and multifamily homes, including housing aimed at people 55 and up.

The project is planned for Chatham Park, an 8,500-acre community under development along U.S. 15-501 and U.S. 64.

Preston Development Co., which is building Chatham Park, anticipates adding 60,000 people, 22,000 homes and 22 million square feet of business, medical and commercial construction to Pittsboro by 2045. The town currently has just over 4,500 residents.

Why is it called Asteria?

▪ Asteria’s goal is creating a place for outdoor living, lifelong learning and community, Disney officials said. Residents will be invited “to pursue their interests and write the next exciting chapter in their lives.”

What they said: “The name Asteria pays homage to the native North Carolina aster flower,” Disney officials said in a news release. “The flower is also the namesake of the goddess Asteria. In Greek mythology, Asteria’s tears of stardust fell to the Earth and sprouted the first aster flowers. Disney Imagineers chose the community’s name to honor North Carolina’s natural beauty from the Earth to the sky.”

What makes this a Disney community?

▪ Each Storyliving by Disney community is designed to reflect the natural beauty, heritage and history of the region where it is built. Disney wants to build more communities across the United States.

▪ Asteria will offer a variety of places where residents can gather with their neighbors and friends, including a wellness and recreation center, neighborhood parks, trails, a restaurant, community garden, and a clubhouse with different annual membership fees. Outdoor entertainment will range from swimming pools to play spaces and fire pits

▪ “Cast members” will re-create the experience found in Disney theme parks and on cruise ships, arranging Disney-themed experiences, including “family fun days”; day trips and longer vacation excursions; classes led by Disney artists; and storytelling dinners.

▪ Homebuilders will work with specific design styles and follow guidelines meant to create a cohesive community.

What they said: The goal of Disney Imagineers is to work with the developer “to weave a story that brings the magic of the region and the inspiration of Disney together,” according to Amy Young, creative director for Disney Imagineers.

Doesn’t Disney have a community in Florida?

▪ Disney’s first community started in 1984, when Michael Eisner and Peter Rummel launched plans for a New Urbanism community that was walkable and reminiscent of towns in the past.

▪ The town of Celebration, Florida, was announced in 1991 and built in 1995 near Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park south of Orlando. The first residents were chosen in a lottery after submitting $1,000 deposits. They started moving in the next year.

▪ In 2004, Disney sold the Town Center, which included businesses and apartments, to Lexin Capital, a New York private equity firm. Town Center residents sued Lexin in 2016 for breach of fiduciary duty and chronic negligence. Lexin blamed the residents, saying they owed the firm for repair work and were mismanaging their own money. The lawsuit has never been settled.

▪ Island Village, the last of five Celebration villages, was built in 2019.

What’s next for the project?

▪ Disney Imagineers and DMB Development officials will draft plans to submit to Pittsboro’s planning office, and staff will review the plans before bringing them to advisory boards and the town’s Board of Commissioners for review and a vote.

▪ The developer will then work with individual builders to complete final plans for each phase of the community and get town staff approval before starting construction.

▪ That could take at least a couple of years, although town spokesman Colby Sawyer said Wednesday there is no definite timeline for the town to complete its process.

▪ Homebuyers can learn more about Storyliving by Disney homes in Chatham Park at storylivingbydisney.com/asteria.