What living in a Disney-themed village could feel like as company comes to NC
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Disney plans 1,500-acre Storyliving community called Asteria in Pittsboro's Chatham Park.
- The Second Star Club will feature themed amenities including a Peter Pan cottage.
- Asteria aims to start home sales in fall 2027 and welcome residents in fall 2028.
Forget rollercoasters, long lines, and $10 jumbo turkey legs.
Disney’s next North Carolina project isn’t a theme park — it’s a 1,500-acre “Storyliving by Disney” master-planned community called Asteria inside Pittsboro’s Chatham Park.
And this Wednesday, the company offered a closer look at its “Second Star Club,” its anchor amenity.
Designed by the Disney “Imagineers” who dream up the company’s theme parks and inspired by the Piedmont, it pays homage to Disney’s 1953 animated classic “Peter Pan” and includes a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces for families, kids and adults 55-plus. There’s also a fully‑themed guest cottage, a Tinker Bell‑topped weather vane and enough curated programming to make your HOA blush. (Think: Disney-themed dinners, yoga and art classes.)
“Is it going to be like living in Disneyland? The short answer is no,” Caroline Boone, executive creative director for Storyliving by Disney, told The N&O in a phone call this week.
Instead, she said it’s about extending Disney’s approach to “storytelling and place-making” beyond the parks and into residents’ daily lives with character-inspired amenities and programming.
“Everything that we do at Disney starts with story, and it’s the same premise here at Asteria,” Boone said. “This will truly be a unique living environment.”
What’s in store
Disney announced plans for Asteria, its second Storyliving by Disney brand community, in December 2023. It’s currently under construction northeast of the U.S. 15-501-U.S. 64 interchange in collaboration with Arizona-based DMB Development.
The Second Star Club is part of its first phase, which also includes plans for a Discovery Studio, model home village, additional community parks and trails, and nearly 600 homes.
The town said the community could be built in nine phases, totaling 4,000 homes between Chatham Park’s Mosaic mixed-use district and the Haw River.
(A second Disney community, Cotino, is being built in Rancho Mirage, California, with homes selling for $1 million to $2 million.)
The club will include:
- A two‑story restaurant (Marquet Hall) with indoor/outdoor seating, game tables and a Tinker Bell weather vane.
- An event pavilion (Piedmont Proper) available for community gatherings and private rentals.
- Hands‑on maker studios (The Studios) equipped with tools like laser engravers and fabric printers for crafts, woodworking and quilting.
- A full wellness center with gym equipment, a lap pool, sun deck and juice bar.
- 55-plus lodge (Longtable Lodge) with bocce courts, a long communal table and dedicated programming.
- Pools, playground, tennis and pickleball courts for all ages.
- Lost Key Cottage, a five‑bedroom Peter Pan–inspired house that residents can reserve for overnight stays, family gatherings or milestone events.
What to watch for
Asteria is expected to begin home sales in fall 2027 and welcome residents in fall 2028.
Disney fans interested in the Asteria community can register their interest on the Storyliving at the Disney website.
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 9:51 PM with the headline "What living in a Disney-themed village could feel like as company comes to NC."
