By Caramia Valentin, The Sun Journal

February 3, 2025

Representatives from the Craven County Tourism Development Authority, Tryon Palace and Weyerhaeuser presented a $5,000 check from the Trail to Tryon proceeds to the American Legion Post 539 in New Bern.

The 2024 Trail to Tryon Race on Nov. 9 attracted around 460 participants who traveled through New Bern in a half marathon, 10K or 5K, said Seth Plank, a portfolio analyst for Weyerhaeuser.

Since its inception in 2022, Weyerhaeuser has been the presenting sponsor for the race, along with many other sponsors.

Melissa Riggle, executive director for the TDA, said partners like Weyerhaeuser contributed to the success of Trail to Tryon.

“We’ve had great partners with Weyerhaeuser and Tryon Palace and all of our other sponsors, Chad Sittig Insurance Agency, Trader Construction,” Riggle said. “It has just really come to be this great annual event, so in our third year, we are super proud to present proceeds to our beneficiaries, who have been doing great work in this region for our local veterans.

“We want to do everything we can to support them, and we’re so proud that this can do that year after year.”

American Legion Commander Liz Hartman and American Legion representative Dave Nelson were at Tryon Palace recently to receive the check on behalf of the organization.

Hartman said funds from Trail to Tryon help the American Legion provide financial assistance to veterans in the form of rent payments, car payments and grocery gift cards. Additionally, the funds help send area children to Americanism programs to learn about the United States Constitution and American history.

“I think a lot of times when you see these checks, you think it’s just money, but I want everyone to realize that the $5,000, that’s essentially from Weyerhaeuser, it’s literally changing lives in the community,” Hartman said, during the presentation. “For the American Legion, this isn’t just money, this is people’s lives that Weyerhaeuser has changed.”

Plank was involved in Trail to Tryon as a participant in the first two years but volunteered to help on race day and speak at the start of the race. 

“The event was great, and I was happy to help,” Plank said. “On behalf of Weyerhaeuser, it’s been a great honor to be the presenting sponsor and help out the last few years.”

This year, Trail to Tryon is scheduled for Dec. 6 in New Bern. Riggle said the new festive date offers a run experience coupled with the holiday festivities New Bern has to offer.

Participants can choose between a half marathon, 10K or 5K. The half marathon costs $65 to enter, the 10K costs $45 and the 5K costs $30.

Thales Academy is honored to have been selected out of nearly 2000 schools and educational organizations in the nation as one of the 64 Quarterfinalists for The 2023 Yass Prize, which is considered the “Pulitzer of Education Innovation” and is designed “to find, reward, celebrate and expand best-in-class education organizations from every sector.”

The Yass Prize is a prestigious award of recognition and also grants a $1 million reward to the grand prize winner. As a Quarterfinalist, Thales Academy is a “STOP Award” (“Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless”) winner and will compete to be among the organizations chosen in the Semifinal round. http://YassPrize.org.Thales Academy Founder, Mr. Bob Luddy, expresses that Thales Academy is very grateful for this honor from the Yass Prize. Josh Herring, PhD, Dean of Classical Education, says: “We are proud to showcase our unique affordable, accessible approach to a high-quality, private, classical K-12 education, and we are excited to be in the company of so many other notable, unique educational organizations for students across the nation.”

Thales Academy is set to open in West New Bern for the 2025-26 school year. See the announcement video here (Thales Academy announcement is at approximately 27:00).

The Craven County’s Tourism Development Authority’s Sports and Events Committee’s inaugural event was a success in more ways than one.

New Bern Sun Journal

By Trevor Dunnell, January 17, 2023

Not knowing how many participants would sign up for the first Trail to Tryon 5K, 10K and half marathon, the event ran away with success, raising $2,000 the local American Legion Post 539.

The newly formed Craven County Tourism Development Authority’s Sports and Events Committee hosted Trail to Tryon Nov. 12-15 and was the committee’s inaugural event. The committee’s focus is to identify opportunities for sports-leisure events in Craven County.

Along with the $2,000 raised, Craven County Tourism executive director Melissa Riggle said over 250 runners signed up for the event as the committee had to cap the number of participants. Without knowing what to expect, the group prepared for between 75-150 runners.

“We are excited to start off the new year on such a positive note,” Riggle said. “The success was beyond what we had anticipated and from that we were able to take a portion of the proceeds and give it to a local organization. Our intent is to create visibility and sports tourism opportunities and a destination for sports in our community.”

Rendering of Thales Academy at West New Bern. (subject to changes and refinement)

July 15, 2022 | New Bern, NC—Thales Academy, a college preparatory network of K-12 independent schools headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, is expanding to include its first eastern North Carolina campus, with a new location slated to open in the New Bern area in 2025. The school will be located just six miles west of New Bern, North Carolina’s historic downtown, in the planned community, West New Bern. West New Bern is a Weyerhaeuser Community with residences, amenities, retail, dining, medical facilities, office spaces and light industry.

Thales Academy New Bern will initially offer grades Pre-K–3rd for the inaugural school year, with plans to add a grade each year to grow to a full kindergarten through eighth grade campus (and perhaps eventually through twelfth grade, given adequate enrollment interest).

“We are honored to have the opportunity to bring our high quality, affordable private school education model to the New Bern community,” says Bob Luddy, Founder and Chairman of Thales Academy. “We pride ourselves on offering a rigorous, classical education that incorporates character formation in all grades and maintains affordable tuition. We are thrilled to share Thales Academy with families in eastern North Carolina.”

The Thales Academy New Bern campus will feature a modern, yet classical, aesthetic, allowing students to learn in an environment modeled after beauty and order. Large floor to ceiling glass windows will flood classrooms with natural light, colorful murals of the Founding Fathers and famous inventors will adorn the hallways, and a spacious playground with artificial turf will welcome students each day. The campus will be outfitted with excellent safety and security features, including controlled access doors, security cameras throughout all areas of the school, and background check systems for all visitors. Advanced HVAC units that supply up to 100% outdoor air will provide superior indoor air quality. Ensuring students are well-versed in technology, the new campus will have Apple TVs in every classroom, as well as shared iPad and MacBook carts. The Thales Academy New Bern campus will be open to all students and is not limited to West New Bern residents.

“We are very thrilled, not just for West New Bern but, for the Greater Craven County children who will have an outstanding educational choice in Thales Academy,” comments Rosemary Fagler, Economic Development Manager for Weyerhaeuser. “Thales is going to do well in Craven County, and so many children’s lives will be changed at Thales Academy New Bern through the power of education.”

Thales Academy currently operates fourteen campuses in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, instructing around 6,000 students, and continues to add campuses as demand for its successful school model grows, including its first South Carolina campus coming in 2024. Student formation is designed to develop the entire person, which is achieved through a research-based teaching method, best-in-class instructors, and a culture that embodies traditional values. Tuition varies slightly by campus location and grade levels, ranging from around $5,000 to just over $6,000 per year, and scholarships and payment plans are available.

Hallmarks of Thales Academy include: rigorous, college-prep academics that emphasize learning to mastery; character formation; real world skills development; personalized attention; and affordable tuition with no extra fees or fundraising. In addition to the low cost, other tangible benefits include: a stable, proven educational approach, a consistent calendar, and a simple dress code. The school strives to cultivate critical thinkers by teaching how to think, not what to think; fostering often forgotten skills such as writing and grammar; and developing confident leaders with strong character. Families interested in Thales Academy may learn more and submit an interest form for the New Bern location at ThalesAcademy.org. Applications for the New Bern campus’s inaugural year will open in September 2024.

About Thales Academy

Thales Academy is a K-12 college preparatory network of schools that assists parents in cultivating virtuous, critical thinking, compassionate individuals. Thales Academy fosters high standards of accountability, academic achievement, and civic responsibility through the use of a rigorous curriculum, character development, and technical and non-cognitive skills development. Thales Academy seeks to deliver the highest quality education at the lowest cost to parents and the community. Students are well-prepared for success in college and beyond, consistently outranking nationwide peers on objective, standardized tests and mastering skills that last a lifetime.

 About West New Bern

West New Bern, A Weyerhaeuser Community, is a mixed-use, master-planned destination located at the highly desirable U.S. Highway 70 (future I-42) and N.C. Highway 43 corridor, just six miles west of New Bern, North Carolina’s historic downtown. The community is planned for up to 1,500 residences in a variety of styles, along with amenities, retail, dining, medical, office spaces and light industry. With approximately 540 acres in its first phase, West New Bern may expand an additional 1,000 acres south of U.S 70. Current onsite partners include Comet West New Bern Apartments, D.R. Horton Homes, New Bern Aesthetic Center and the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles and Driver’s License Office.

About Weyerhaeuser

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. Weyerhaeuser owns or controls approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manages additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. Weyerhaeuser manages these timberlands on a sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized forestry standards. They are also one of the largest manufacturers of wood products in America. The company is a real estate investment trust. In 2021, Weyerhaeuser generated $10.2 billion in net sales and employed approximately 9,200 people who serve customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser Company’s common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WY.

Triangle Business Journal

By Evan Hoopfer, September 23, 2021

For basically any other company, the West New Bern development would be considered massive. But timber giant Weyerhaeuser owns 540,000 acres of timberland in North Carolina alone.

“The term massive, I guess it just depends on scale,” said Rose Fagler, economic development manager for Seattle-based Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY), which has a real estate business unit that has developed several master-planned communities in the Southeast.

Still, West New Bern will help reshape Craven County and the surrounding area at the mouth of the Neuse River along the North Carolina coast. Phase I calls for up to 1,500 residences, as well as room for retail and restaurant space. The entire West New Bern development is slated to be 3,000 acres.

As the development gets ready to welcome its first residents later this year, Weyerhaeuser recently brought on CBRE | Raleigh’s Land Services and Retail Services groups to handle the marketing for the project.

Charlie Coyne, head of CBRE | Raleigh’s Retail Services group, said the team is looking at retail options for the community, such as groceries stores, restaurants, breweries and taprooms.

“Food and beverage is a big part of the first phase,” Coyne said. He added opportunities exist for small businesses looking for office space, as well as a large corporate office. “There are 3,000 acres, so there’s a lot of room.”

Fagler said there’s space for industrial development in Phase II, as Weyerhaeuser owns land that wraps around the Craven County Industrial Park – and the park is running out of capacity.

West New Bern encompasses more than 3,000 acres at full buildout. Phase I calls for up to 1,500 homes across 540 acres.

As for residential development, work on homes is progressing quickly.

Comet West New Bern will include 224 apartments, and the first tenants are expected to move in around Thanksgiving. And national homebuilding giant D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) has broken ground on 63 single-family homes with the first residents expected to move in around Christmas, Fagler said.

She added that conversations are ongoing with other builders about the rest of Phase I, which she estimated would be built out over the next 10 years.

Barry Bowling, head of CBRE’s Land Services group out of Raleigh, said interest in the New Bern area has risen over the past 18 months.

“With some conversations I’ve had with some other developers down there, they’re seeing heightened migration due to Covid,” Bowling said. “It could be families. It could be retirees. If you look at some of the stats that I’ve seen, folks are moving from Raleigh, Wilmington, New York, California – it’s all across the board.”

Raleigh is about a two-hour drive to New Bern today. But Bowling noted several road improvements planned along the route will make Raleigh and New Bern better connected and therefore West New Bern more appealing. One of the projects would convert U.S. 70 to an interstate, I-42.

New Bern Sun Journal

By Julia Masters, August 24, 2021

West New Bern’s first two neighborhoods underwent significant progress this summer and could welcome over 300 new families to the area by the end of 2022.

The Weyerhaeuser development, located six miles from downtown New Bern, was announced as Craven Thirty in 2012. At this time, over 300 acres of the property were set aside for restaurant, retail, hotel and light industry use.

In 2017, 388 acres were rezoned to be used for residential and commercial use, rather than industrial.

“We took the time when we were planning West New Bern that it took planning principles from the City of New Bern, so even though it is new, it should feel familiar,” said Rose Fagler, economic development manager for Weyerhaeuser. “It should feel inviting and charming and be a compliment to New Bern itself.”

From the way the roads are laid out to the street-facing porches, the community is meant to be reminiscent of historic downtown New Bern, Fagler said.

West New Bern hopes to be a community that offers multiple housing types at varying price points so that it meets the housing needs of everyone coming to the area whether it be for a job at the industrial park or retirement.

West New Bern will help support and sustain New Bern’s continued growth and provide quality housing to employees that want to live close to their surrounding jobs, Fagler said.

“It was a long time in the making, but it will be well worth it.” Fagler said. “This is not just your typical development where a developer is going to come in and just develop something, we want to make sure that it actually represents the community that we’re in, and it also represents the company that we are.”

Phase 1 construction kicked off in the summer of 2019 and includes the development of 540-acres, 1,500 residences and opportunities for retailers and office space.

The first two West New Bern neighborhoods that will be ready to offer residents the “Next Direction of Carolina Living” are Comet West New Bern and a D.R. Horton single-family home development.

Comet West New Bern

Comet West New Bern sits at the entrance of the property and is a 224-unit apartment community with its own 24-hour clubhouse.

In late July, leasing applications opened for a November 1 move-in date. Online construction tours and sneak peeks will be available soon.

There are a variety of both one and two-bedroom floorplans. One-bedrooms range from 689 to 819 square feet and $997 to $1,070 a month. Prices depend on apartment features, move-in dates and lease length. Those prices are for a 12-month lease.

Two bedrooms start at 1,038 square feet and cap at 1,327. They come at a price tag of $1,215 to $1,440.

All apartments come equipped with granite countertops, walk-in closets, nine-foot ceilings, screened patios, stainless steel appliances and walk-in showers.

The community clubhouse has a fitness studio, yoga room, resort-style pool with lap lanes, a sundeck and an optional concierge package. It will open its doors in September.

Other Comet West Bern common amenities include a grilling station, outdoor fire pit, resident lounge, valet trash service, java bar, complimentary draft beer, billiards table and a pet park.

D.R. Horton neighborhood

D.R. Horton builders got to work on the first five of 63 planned single-family homes for the West New Bern neighborhood which is located northeast of Comet.

The model homes will be ready in the tail end of 2021 with more construction projected to start soon.

The homes will have an open floor plan and are all two-story residences. They will all feature smart home product packages and range in square footage from 2,164 to 2,824.

Looking ahead at the West New Bern development

Phase 1 of West New Bern has more than 47-acres of land, parceled in different lots, available for retail development.

Based on resources, residential capacity and location, West New Bern could support the following services: gas station, movie complex, grocery store, sporting goods store, bank, doctors’ office, restaurant or bar and others.

Fagler said that they are working on planning retail and commercial development and would like to see it happen sooner rather than later.

“We don’t want to repeat what’s already in the greater New Bern area. We want to make sure that it does complement it,” Fagler said.

Businesses that develop in West New Bern will be unique and add something new to the larger area of New Bern.

By the end of next year West New Bern could be home to more than 300 new families, as Comet fills up and more single-family homes are built.

West New Bern plans to be a destination within itself, while still allowing residents to enjoy downtown New Bern in such close proximity.

“Everything that’s charming and welcoming, and vibrant about New Bern and Weyerhaeuser’s presence in the area for so long, that’s what we looked to West New Bern bringing to the area.”

(originally published in the New Bern Sun Journal)

Craven Thirty, the planned mixed-use community off N.C. 43 and U.S. 70, has taken on a new name, and possibly a new lease on life.

The project, which was touted by former Gov. Bev Perdue in 2012 and then stalled by an economic slump and a changing retail landscape, has been renamed West New Bern. The site is now planned as a primarily residential development.

According to a West New Bern website launched Tuesday by Weyerhaeuser, the company designing the site, Phase 1 of the project spans approximately 540 acres and will include residence capacity of approximately 1,500. A variety of home types and homesite sizes are planned, including single-family homes, townhomes, custom homesites and multi-family residences.

A proposed 35-plus acre lake chain is also planned for Phase 1, with walking paths, relaxation points and green spaces.

According to the website, electric, water, and telecommunications utilities are currently available on-site.

The website describes West New Bern as a “mixed use destination community, with residential, Main Street, and outparcel retail, office, dining and commerce opportunities, plus plans for a K-9 school site.”

When the Craven Thirty project was introduced to the community in 2012, plans called for the 550-acre tract to be divided into residential and commercial areas, with a state-of-the-art cinema and community bike trails. Twenty acres were to be used for restaurants and approximately 42 acres for apartment living. Additionally, 10 acres were to be set aside for hotels and 40 acres for a large retail site, with 75 acres for smaller retail and about 200 acres for light industrial use.

During their July 11 meeting, the New Bern Board of Aldermen voted to rezone a 388-acre portion of the existing West New Bern site from industrial to residential and commercial use.

Kellie Hawkins, N.C. project manager for Weyerhaeuser Real Estate division, told the aldermen that the project had run into a number of problems since its announcement five years ago.

“We started this project with commercial brokers in place, we had a commitment for a large box (store), we had a commitment for a movie production studio. In a matter of months the 43 South leg was pulled off of the state transportation plan, within weeks of that the state Department of Revenue stopped all their credit for the movie production industry. …So it was a strong blow to us, because as you can tell there’s quite a bit of infrastructure already in the ground.”

Hawkins said a store originally planned to anchor a 75 acre retail site decided instead to invest in a Canadian project. She admitted that studies that showed a low traffic count in the area also played a part in deterring retail interest in the site.

“This has not happened to Weyerhaeuser in our other projects; it was a shock,” said Hawkins.

According to Hawkins, Weyerhaeuser recently completed a new marketing study for the site. She said the study recommended the development of additional residential neighborhoods and additional areas for retail offices, with significant open space and community amenities.

“We’ve learned a lot and because of that we’ve changed our vision of what we think this property should look like,” she said. “We believe this type of community will provide exciting new opportunities for the residents of New Bern.”

Hawkins said the plan would continue to focus on the north side of the project due to its water and sewer capacity.

“But we have every intention to go southward and to continue to grow New Bern,” she said.

Ken Jackson, director of real estate development for Weyerhaeuser, said the next step would be to launch a marketing initiative to homebuilders in the area and the region.

“There’s nobody more interested in having vertical development here than Weyerhaeuser, because we’ve invested a lot of money,” said Jackson. “We’re working as hard and as fast as we can to get to a point where homes can be built.”

Weyerhaeuser also developed the Taberna and Greenbrier communities in New Bern, and sold land for Carolina Colours.