Stan Powell, Broker Local. Coastal. Trusted.
(910) 274-5067 StanPowell@SeaCoastRealty.com
Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage

Your Community Guide · Carolina Shores, Brunswick County, North Carolina

Beacon Townes

A pond-side neighborhood of townhome-style condominiums just over the state line on Highway 17, where the association handles the roof, the lawn and the master insurance policy — and Calabash, Sunset Beach and Cherry Grove are all a short drive away. Here's how it's put together, what the dues really cover, and how to tell the buildings apart.

Beacon Townes is built for the person who would rather spend Saturday at the beach than on a ladder. The fountain runs in the pond out back, somebody else mows the grass, and when it's time to head home for a few weeks, you lock one door and go.

2006first buildings completed; newest on Bulkhead Bend c. 2017
3 BRin nearly every floor plan, most with a garage
~1,600–2,000heated sq ft across the plans
Roof & lawnexterior, master policy and grounds in the HOA
~15 minto Sunset Beach or Cherry Grove

Build years, sizes and HOA inclusions per public listing records; drive time per listing descriptions. Subject to change — verify before relying on any figure.

Stan Powell, REALTOR and Broker, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, 10020 Beach Dr. SW, Calabash, NC 28467

“I wanted to create these Community Guides because every neighborhood along our coast has its own personality, history, and little details that you simply can't see in a listing search. Over the past 20 years, I've worked with many of the builders who helped bring these communities to life, and I've watched them grow from the ground up. Along the way, I've had the privilege of welcoming so many people home here. These guides are my way of sharing what makes each community different, what makes them special, and why so many people are proud to call them home.”

Browse Every Listing In Beacon Townes Live MLS · Updated Daily

Before the floor plans

The kind of easy that's hard to find

Row of Beacon Townes buildings reflected in the pond under a clear blue sky
The buildings lined up along the bank, every one of them doubled in the water. This is the view a lot of Beacon Townes homes were built to face.

Some people come to the coast wanting a project — a yard to shape, a house to make their own one weekend at a time. Other people come here because they've already done that, and what they want now is time.

Beacon Townes is for the second group. Picture a morning in the Carolina room with the sun coming through the windows, coffee in hand, the fountain going in the pond beyond the patio. Nothing needs mowing. Nothing needs painting. The only decision on the list is whether it's a beach morning or a Calabash lunch.

Beacon Townes end unit with a screened porch facing a wide lawn and a stand of tall pines
A screened porch on an end unit, looking out over open lawn and a wall of pines. Somebody else mows that grass.

And when it's time to head back north for a few weeks, or off to see the grandkids, the house doesn't need a babysitter. Lock the door, set the thermostat, and go. The lawn will still be cut when you get back.

How the neighborhood got here

Two building eras, one association

Beacon Townes wasn't built all at once. Most of it went up in the mid-to-late 2000s, then the community sat for a stretch before a newer group of buildings filled in along Bulkhead Bend. Knowing which era a home comes from tells you a lot before you ever walk in.

Brick Beacon Townes at Carolina Shores entrance sign with a lighthouse logo and yellow flower beds
The entrance sign, lighthouse and all — and read the second line: at Carolina Shores. Heading north from South Carolina, it's the right turn just past the Food Lion shopping center.
  1. 2006–09

    The original buildings

    The first homes went up along Pilot House Place and Freeboard Lane, set up as a condominium with townhome-style floor plans. Listing records show completions in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, with plans like the Presidio offering a first-floor primary suite, two bedrooms upstairs and a loft. Many of these buildings sit right on the ponds.

  2. c. 2017

    Bulkhead Bend fills in

    A newer set of buildings was completed along Bulkhead Bend, and listings describe them as some of the newest in the development. These plans tend to run a little larger — roughly 1,780 to 1,980 heated square feet — with the primary suite upstairs.

  3. 2024

    The association re-roofs

    Listing records note a new roof installed by the HOA in October 2024 on at least one building. It's a good example of why the dues here look higher than a single-family HOA — the association, not the owner, carries the big exterior items.

  4. Today

    An established resale community

    There's no builder selling here anymore. Every home you'll find is a resale, and the neighborhood has settled into what it was designed to be: a lock-and-leave option for second-home owners and retirees, and an affordable way into the coast for full-time buyers.

That two-era history is why two homes a few hundred feet apart can feel so different inside. One may have a first-floor primary and fifteen years of owner updates; the other may be newer, bigger, and laid out with every bedroom upstairs. Same pool, same dues, very different daily life.

Open lawn sloping down to a Beacon Townes pond with homes along a curving street
The common green running down to the water, homes along the curve of the street. Turn in off Highway 17 and this is what replaces the traffic.

Ponds, porches & a quiet corner off the highway

From Highway 17 you'd never guess it's back here. Turn in, and the traffic noise fades behind the buildings, and what you notice instead is water — ponds threaded through the community, fountains running, patios and screened porches facing out over them.

It's the kind of place where you start recognizing the same faces at the mailboxes and the pool, where neighbors keep an eye on each other's homes when someone's out of town, and where the evening routine is a chair on the porch and the light going gold over the water.

It isn't a resort, and it doesn't pretend to be. It's a well-kept, low-maintenance neighborhood in one of the most convenient spots on this stretch of the coast — and for a lot of people, that's exactly the point.

Browse Every Listing In Beacon Townes Live MLS · Updated Daily

Three ways to sort what's for sale

With no builder on site, the shopping question here isn't which phase or which upgrade package. It's which building era, where the primary bedroom is, and what's out the back window. Here's how I'd sort the listings if you were sitting across from me at my Calabash office.

Yellow Beacon Townes building with blue shutters, a second-floor balcony and attached one-car garages
Blue shutters, a second-floor balcony, a crape myrtle out front and a garage for every home. Most homes here have one — a big deal at this price point.

Let me clear up the misconception that trips buyers up first. You'll see Beacon Townes listed as townhomes on some sites and condominiums on others, and placed in Calabash on some and Carolina Shores on others. They're all describing the same neighborhood — but the differences matter.

The homes are townhome-style in how they live: two stories, your own front door, your own garage. Legally, they're condominium units, which is why the association insures and maintains the buildings. And while the mailing address often says Calabash, the recorded legal description places the community in Carolina Shores.

Each path below has its own live search attached.

The right choice here usually isn't about square footage — almost every home has three bedrooms and lives between 1,600 and 2,000 square feet. The real decisions are whether you'll take stairs every night, and whether your patio looks at the pond or at the next building.

The original buildings

Most of the inventory

The 2006–2009 buildings along Pilot House Place and Freeboard Lane make up most of Beacon Townes. Many plans put the primary suite on the main floor, with two bedrooms and a loft upstairs — so guests get their own floor and you don't need the stairs day to day.

Look for the details listings mention again and again: vaulted great rooms, a bright Carolina room off the kitchen, granite counters and tall 42-inch cabinets, and three-season or screened porches that open to a patio. Some of the Freeboard Lane plans have a private bath for one of the upstairs bedrooms, which makes visiting family very comfortable.

Because these homes have had fifteen-plus years of owners, condition varies more than it does in the newer buildings. Some have been fully refreshed with new flooring, appliances and heat pumps; others are original. That spread is where the value is — and where you want someone reading the listing with you.

View Homes In The Original Buildings Live MLS · Updated Daily
Beacon Townes street of buildings with green shutters, attached garages and crape myrtles along the curb
A typical street — attached garages, a different shutter color on each building, crape myrtles along the curb. The look carries across both building eras, so the year built tells you more than the curb does.
Built
2006 – 2009
Typical size
~1,600 – 1,890 sq ft
Bedrooms
3
Baths
2.5 – 3.5
Primary suite
Often on the main floor
Garage
Attached, 1 to 1.5 car typical
Streets
Pilot House Pl & Ct, Freeboard Ln

The Bulkhead Bend buildings

Newest

The buildings along Bulkhead Bend came along around 2017, roughly a decade after the rest of the community. Plans here run a bit larger, about 1,780 to 1,980 heated square feet, with an open main level, a powder room for guests, and all three bedrooms upstairs — the primary suite with a tray ceiling, walk-in shower and dual vanity.

For buyers who want the newest systems and don't mind stairs, this is often the first stop. For buyers planning to stay put for a long time, the upstairs primary is the trade-off to think through honestly — I'd rather you decide that now than five years from now.

View Bulkhead Bend Homes Live MLS · Updated Daily
Bulkhead Bend street sign at Beacon Townes with buildings along the curve of the street
The corner where Bulkhead Bend begins — the street with the community's newest buildings.
Built
c. 2017
Typical size
~1,780 – 1,980 sq ft
Bedrooms
3, all upstairs
Baths
2.5
Primary suite
Upstairs, tray ceiling
Garage
Attached 1-car
Amenity access
Full — same pool, same HOA

End units & pond-view homes

Worth the premium

In a community of attached homes, position is everything. End units share only one wall, get windows on three sides, and some sit beside open common space — listings describe that as added privacy, and it shows in the price. A few end units are also larger, with bonus space and even a two-car garage.

Pond frontage is the other premium. A three-season porch looking out over the water and the fountain is the view people remember after the showing, and it's the view that tends to sell fastest when it's time to move on.

If you only care about one of the two, I'll tell you which buildings are worth walking first. If you want both, be ready to move quickly when one comes up.

Beacon Townes end unit with a two-car garage beside an interior unit with a one-car garage
An end unit with a two-car garage beside its one-car neighbor. Side by side, you can see what the end-unit premium buys.
Beacon Townes end unit with navy shutters, a covered side entry and landscaped lawn wrapping around it
An end unit with its entry on the side and lawn wrapping around the corner — one shared wall, windows on three sides.
End units
One shared wall, extra windows
Larger end plans
Up to ~1,890 sq ft, some 2-car
Pond-side homes
In both building eras
Outdoor space
Screened or 3-season porch, patio
Resale demand
Typically strongest

Which kind of Beacon Townes buyer are you?

Most buyers know the answer to this before they know the floor plan. Pick the one that sounds like your situation and I'll open the live search on it.

I want to skip the stairs

You'd like the primary bedroom on the main floor, with the upstairs saved for guests, hobbies and the grandkids.

Original-Era Homes

I want the newest building

Newer construction, a little more space, and you don't mind every bedroom being upstairs.

Bulkhead Bend Homes

I want the water out back

The view matters more than the year it was built. You want an end unit, a pond view, or ideally both.

End Units & Pond Views

What you'll see in the listings

The floor plans, and how they actually live

Beacon Townes plans are close cousins — almost all three-bedroom, two-story, with a garage — but the differences that matter are where the primary bedroom sits and what's added on the back. These are layouts that recur in public listing records, with sizes as listed.

The better question is how you expect to live in it. A first-floor primary with a Carolina room may serve you for twenty years. A larger plan with every bedroom upstairs may be perfect for a second home and less perfect at eighty.

Layouts, bedroom counts and heated square footage as they appear in public listing records. Individual homes have been updated and modified. Pricing changes often enough that I don't publish it here — ask me for today's numbers on a specific home.
LayoutBedsBathsHeated sq ftNotes
Presidio32.5~1,800First-floor primary suite, two bedrooms and a landing/office up, walk-in attic, 1.5-car garage, screened porch
Original first-floor primary33.5~1,610Primary down; two bedrooms up, one with a private bath, plus a loft. Three-season porch on some
Original with Carolina room33.5~1,700 – 1,800Vaulted great room, Carolina room beyond the kitchen, rear patio
Larger end unit32.5~1,890Bonus space and loft, screened porch, paver patio; some with a 2-car garage
Bulkhead Bend32.51,780 – 1,980c. 2017; all bedrooms up, primary with tray ceiling, upstairs loft, powder room down

Not a complete list. Ask me which layout a specific address has and what the owners have updated.

Browse Every Listing In Beacon Townes

What you actually get to use

A pool, a cabana, and water out the back door

Beacon Townes keeps its amenity list short on purpose. There's no clubhouse to staff and no golf course to fund — the dues go to the buildings and the grounds, with a pool for summer afternoons. Everything else on this stretch of coast is a few minutes down Highway 17.

Beacon Townes community pool with blue umbrellas and lounge chairs, ringed by palmettos and pines
The pool on a sunny morning — blue umbrellas, plenty of loungers, palmettos and pines all the way around the fence.

The pool and pool house are the neighborhood's gathering spot from late spring into fall. It's a short walk from every street, which means a quick swim after the grocery run is a realistic plan rather than an outing.

Beacon Townes pool house with a covered breezeway gate to the pool deck, palmettos and parking
The pool house and its breezeway gate onto the deck. The sign by the door spells it out: homeowners and their guests.

The association maintains both, along with the deck and common areas around them.

Beacon Townes pond with a row of townhome buildings and tall pines beyond
Across the pond — lawn right down to the water's edge, the buildings set back behind it, pines along the skyline.

The ponds are the amenity people don't expect. They wind through the community, the fountains run, and a large share of the homes look out over water from the Carolina room, the porch or the patio. The HOA maintains the ponds and fountains along with the irrigation and landscaping around them.

For buyers coming from the Northeast or Midwest, that's the detail to notice. Coffee on a screened porch over the water in February is a very different winter than the one you're leaving.

Picture an ordinary weekday here: coffee on the porch while the fountain comes on, a ten-minute run to Calabash for lunch on the waterfront, a swim in the afternoon, and supper on the patio while the pond goes gold. Nothing about it requires a to-do list.

Community pool

Outdoor pool within walking distance of every building.

Pool house & cabana

Shade and seating beside the deck, maintained by the association.

Ponds & fountains

Water views from many homes, with fountain and pond upkeep in the dues.

Irrigated common grounds

Lawn, landscaping and irrigation handled community-wide.

Attached garages

Most homes include a garage — rare among coastal condos at this price point.

Lock-and-leave exteriors

Roof, siding and power washing handled by the HOA.

Where the street names come from

Drive in and the street signs read like a boat's spec sheet. The pilothouse is the enclosed wheelhouse where a captain steers. Freeboard is the height of a hull above the waterline. A bulkhead is the seawall that holds back the water along a shoreline. It fits a community named for a beacon — the light that guides boats home.

It's a small thing, and a nod to the shrimp boats tied up a few minutes away on the Calabash River. Once you know the pattern, you can spot a Beacon Townes address on any listing site instantly.

The question everyone asks second

What the dues cover — and why they look the way they do

Current listings show association fees of roughly $4,800 to $4,860 a year. That's higher than a typical single-family HOA, and it should be — because in a condominium the association carries the building itself. The master policy, the roof, the siding and the grounds come out of that number.

Run the comparison honestly: add up what you'd pay for wind and hail coverage on the structure, a roof replacement fund, termite protection, pressure washing and yard service on a house, and the dues start to look like what they are — a way of handing those bills to someone else.

Included for owners

  • Master insurance on the structure, including wind and hail
  • Roof, siding and exterior building maintenance
  • Power washing of buildings and common areas
  • Termite treatment and pest control
  • Lawn care, landscaping and irrigation
  • Streets and street lights
  • Pool, cabana, ponds and fountains
  • Trash and professional management

What owners still handle

  • Everything inside the walls — flooring, cabinets, fixtures
  • Heat pump, water heater and appliances
  • An interior/contents (HO-6 style) insurance policy
  • Utilities
  • Owner-added items like storm doors or patio upgrades, subject to approval

What I check before you offer

  • Any pending or recent special assessments
  • The master policy's deductible and what it means for you
  • Rental and leasing rules in the recorded declaration
  • Pet rules
  • Condominium approval for your loan type

Dues have climbed over the years — public records show about $240 a month in 2013, $260–$280 later on, and around $400 a month today. That's normal as insurance costs rise and buildings age, but it's why I pull the current budget and reserves rather than quoting a number that will be stale in six months.

Getting around

The state line on one side, Calabash on the other

Beacon Townes sits on Highway 17 in Carolina Shores, just inside North Carolina. Heading north from South Carolina, you pass the Food Lion shopping center and turn right onto Pilot House Place. That puts groceries a minute away, the Calabash waterfront a few minutes up the road, and the North Myrtle Beach side close enough for dinner.

Few spots on this coast sit between two states this comfortably. You get North Carolina's quieter beach towns for your days on the sand, and all of the Grand Strand's restaurants, shopping and shows when you want them.

Curving Beacon Townes street lined with crape myrtles, palmettos and landscaped islands
Crape myrtles on both sides and a slow curve in the street. It's quiet back here — and Highway 17 is a minute away when you're ready.

When the coast becomes part of everyday life

For many people, moving to the Brunswick County coast begins with a dream of spending more time near the ocean. At Beacon Townes, that can become part of an ordinary Tuesday instead of something saved for vacation.

There might be mornings when you drive over to Sunset Beach to walk the strand, afternoons spent on the docks in Little River, or evenings when a plate of Calabash seafood turns into a slow drive home along the water.

And on the days when you'd rather stay put, there's the pool, a walk past the ponds, or your own porch waiting for you.

It's more than living near the beach. It's having the freedom to enjoy the coastal life in whatever way feels right that day — without a yard waiting for you when you get home.

Groceries & shopping (Food Lion center)
~1 min
Calabash waterfront & seafood row
~5 min
Little River waterfront (SC)
~10 min
Sunset Beach
~15 min
Cherry Grove / North Myrtle Beach
~15 min
Ocean Isle Beach
~20 – 25 min
Shallotte
~20 min
Myrtle Beach International Airport
~45 min
Wilmington
~1 hr

Drive times are approximate and vary with season and traffic.

A good Saturday here doesn't take much planning: coffee on the porch, a morning on the sand at Sunset Beach, lunch on the Calabash waterfront, and back for a swim before the fountain lights up the pond at dusk.

Five minutes up the road: Calabash

Beacon Townes owners don't have to drive to the beach to feel like they live on the coast. A few minutes drive, the Calabash waterfront still runs the way it has for generations — shrimp boats tied up at the docks, marsh grass at the edge of the river, and supper on a deck over the water. Up the road, Callahan's has been the town's front porch for gifts, candy and Christmas shopping for years.

Shrimp boats tied up along the Calabash waterfront with an egret standing in the marsh grass
The Calabash waterfront in the evening light — shrimp boats along the dock, an egret working the marsh grass, the river opening up beyond.
Long wooden dock on the Calabash River with shrimp boats and fishing boats tied up
The long dock on the river, shrimp boats and fishing boats waiting for morning.
Waterfront restaurant deck over the marsh in Calabash beside a fresh shrimp and fish market
Supper on the deck over the marsh, with the fresh shrimp and fish market right next door.
Callahan's Nautical Gifts of Calabash sign and shops under a sprawling live oak
Callahan's of Calabash under the live oaks — the sign everyone in town gives directions by.
Callahan's storefront in Calabash with signs for gifts, jewelry, candies, home decor and St. Nick Nacks
Gifts, candy, home decor and the St. Nick Nacks Christmas shop, all under one long porch roof.

And a little farther: the beach

Sunset over the water at Sunset Beach with docks and waterfront homes
Sunset Beach, about fifteen minutes away.

Streets you'll see in the listings

If you're cross-referencing addresses from a portal, these are inside Beacon Townes:

Not necessarily a complete list. Mailing addresses may say Calabash or Carolina Shores. Ask me if you're unsure whether an address falls inside the association.

Schools

Listing records place Beacon Townes in the West Brunswick High School district. Elementary and middle assignments are set by Brunswick County Schools and change — confirm for a specific address.

Want to know which Beacon Townes homes I'd actually shortlist today?

Not the full inventory list — the two or three I'd put in front of you if you were my buyer, and the reasons the rest didn't make it.

Call (910) 274-5067 Email Me Your Criteria

Straight answers

What the national sites get wrong about Beacon Townes

I check these portals because my buyers read them first. Here is where the record needs correcting.

"Beacon Townes is in Calabash."

It's in Carolina Shores. Many listings use a Calabash mailing address because the two towns share the 28467 ZIP code, but the recorded legal description places Beacon Townes in Carolina Shores — and so does the community's own entrance sign, which reads "Beacon Townes at Carolina Shores." The town matters for local taxes, permits and services.

"It's a 55+ community."

Not according to the listing record. Beacon Townes turns up on retirement-community directories, but nothing in the listing records describes an age restriction, and homes are marketed to primary, second-home and retirement buyers alike. Plenty of owners are retired. I'll confirm against the recorded declaration for any home you're considering.

"Average home age: under a year."

A data glitch. One statistics panel shows an average age of 0.4 years. The homes were built between 2006 and about 2017 — there's no new construction here.

"Parks, golf and community events."

Generic template copy. Some portal pages describe parks and golf. The community amenities are a pool and cabana, ponds and fountains, and maintained grounds. The golf courses are nearby, not in the neighborhood.

"Townhouse" vs. "condo" — two different things.

Same homes, different labels. They live like townhomes, but legally they're condominium units. That's why the HOA insures the buildings — and why your lender and insurance agent will treat them as condos.

Questions I get about Beacon Townes

Who tends to like Beacon Townes most?

Buyers who want the coast without the upkeep — second-home owners who need to lock up and leave, retirees done with yard work, and full-time buyers looking for a garage and three bedrooms at a price that's hard to find closer to the water. If you want a big yard, room for a boat, or a single-family house, I'll tell you plainly and point you somewhere else in the county.

Is Beacon Townes in Calabash or Carolina Shores?

Carolina Shores. The recorded legal description places it there, though many listings use a Calabash mailing address because the two towns share the 28467 ZIP code.

Is Beacon Townes a 55+ community?

Nothing in the listing records describes an age restriction, and homes are marketed to primary, second-home and retirement buyers alike. Many owners are retired. I'll confirm against the recorded declaration for any specific home.

Are these townhomes or condos?

Both, depending on how you look at it. They live like townhomes — two stories, private entry, attached garage — but they're legally condominium units. The association insures and maintains the buildings, and lenders and insurers treat them as condos.

What does the HOA cover?

Listings describe master insurance on the structure including wind and hail, roof and exterior maintenance, power washing, termite and pest control, lawn care, landscaping and irrigation, streets and street lights, the pool and cabana, ponds and fountains, trash and management. Recent listings show about $4,800 to $4,860 a year, but I pull the current budget rather than quoting a number that changes.

How far is it from the beach?

About fifteen minutes to Sunset Beach or to Cherry Grove in North Myrtle Beach, and roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes to Ocean Isle Beach. The Calabash waterfront is about five minutes away.

Can I rent my home out?

Leasing rules live in the recorded declaration and any amendments, and they can change. If rental income is part of your plan, I'll put the current documents in front of you before you go under contract — not after.

Do I need my own agent for a resale here?

I'd recommend it. The listing agent represents the seller. On a condo resale, the details that matter most — the budget, reserves, special assessments, the master policy and which building era you're buying into — are exactly the things worth having someone on your side read carefully.

How's the resale market here?

I publish a branded market snapshot covering absorption rate, days on market and closed price trends. Ask me for the current edition for Beacon Townes — it's free and there's no obligation attached.

Beacon Townes building with an American flag by the front door, shake accents in the gables and a two-car garage
A flag by the door, cars in the drive, shake accents up in the gables. The next chapter usually starts somewhere just like this.

Finding your place at Beacon Townes

Every buyer arrives at the coast with a different picture of what home should feel like.

For some, it's a place where the beach is close enough to enjoy whenever the mood strikes. For others, it's a home base that takes care of itself while they travel, see family, or split the year between here and somewhere else. And for some, it's simply the first front door on the coast that fits the budget.

What I appreciate about communities like Beacon Townes is that they remind us a home is more than square footage. It's where ordinary days become meaningful, and where the next chapter of life starts to take shape — sometimes with a lot fewer chores attached.

After more than 20 years working in the Brunswick County housing market, I've learned that helping someone find the right community is just as important as finding the right house. My goal is to help you understand both — so when you turn the key, you feel confident you've found a place that fits the life you came here to enjoy.

Thinking about Beacon Townes?

If you've found an address you're considering — even one on Zillow, Realtor.com or another agent's site — send it to me before you make an offer. I'll tell you which building era it's from, what's out the back window, what the association has coming up, and what the recent sales say it's worth. No obligation.

Send Me The Address

Stan Powell · REALTOR®, Broker · Cell (910) 274-5067

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage

Stan Powell

REALTOR®, Broker

CNE · ABR · e-PRO · CSP

Office

10020 Beach Dr. SW
Calabash, NC 28467

Cell (910) 274-5067 Office (910) 579-8471 StanPowell@SeaCoastRealty.com