APPROVED: Mallard Crossing’s Unanimously Approved Rezoning & Annexation

Contender America is pleased to announce another successful rezoning and annexation approval for a large Master Planned Community consisting of 1,327 homesites in the Town of Smithfield, Johnston County, NC. The Town Council unanimously approved the community on August 5, 2025.

Mallard Crossing will be located a mere 30 minutes from Downtown Raleigh with easy access to Interstate 95. This rezoning effort was recently showcased in the Triangle Business Journal. With the influx of new families and retirees (Grandparents following their Grandchildren) locating to the Tarheel State, Mallard Crossing’s thoughtfully planned design will offer a variety of product types and price points. There will be a Traditional/Conventional side of the community, combined with an Age Targeted area of the community. These two distinct areas will be connected by trails and sidewalks.

The previous zoning approval in 2022 called for a 2,005-unit residential subdivision. Due to the high density and lack of product diversity, the original plan presented a less-than-favorable design. Contender America reduced the previous density by almost 700 lots, from 4.3 DUA to 2.8 DUA, including the elimination of 824 apartments. The new community design proposed by Contender America, plays up affordable quality homes, the advantages of a walkable-friendly community, with an abundance of internal connectivity and the ease of connection to the charm of Downtown Smithfield.

Construction will span five phases, with 7 distinct neighborhoods, all simultaneously so as to offer all product types for sale at the same time. The product offering will be a mix of single-family detached product types and two townhome products, a first-time buyer townhome and Age Targeted townhomes with first floor primary suites. The community will be situated on an expansive 468-acre site, which consists of an assemblage of 6 parcels. The community will have two distinct amenity areas for each side of the community, which includes two pools and clubhouses, open air pavilions, playgrounds, pickleball courts, gazebos, and dog parks scattered throughout the community.