Selma and Eastfield Crossing: Growth in North Carolina's Fastest-Growing County

Johnston County isn't just growing — it's growing faster than any other county in North Carolina. According to the Johnston County Economic Development Board, the county is home to over 205,000 residents and is adding roughly 10,000 new residents a year. Nowhere is that growth more visible right now than in Selma, at a development called Eastfield Crossing.

What Eastfield Crossing Is

Eastfield Crossing is a massive mixed-use development sitting on roughly 400 acres at the intersection of I-95 and Highway 70, right at the edge of Selma. At full build-out, it's planned to include:

• Around 500,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space in its Town Center
• Three hotels
• Over 1 million square feet of business park space
• Medical and professional office space
• Senior living
• Both single-family and multi-family residential communities
• Walking and biking trails throughout

The project has grown considerably since it was first proposed — early plans called for around 1.5 million square feet; the current master plan is closer to 2.8 to 3 million square feet total.

Who's Already Open

Phase 1 retail opened in October 2024, and the tenant list is a serious one for the area. Confirmed and open tenants include:

• Academy Sports
• Ross
• Burlington
• Five Below
• Ulta Beauty
• Marshalls
• Old Navy
• Hobby Lobby
• Target (Johnston County's first)
• Rack Room Shoes
• Panda Express
• Men's Wearhouse

A BJ's Wholesale Club gas station has also opened. Restaurants planned for the Town Center include familiar names like Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse.

For Selma and the surrounding area, this is a genuinely new kind of shopping access — the sort of national retail mix that previously meant a drive into Raleigh, Garner, or Clayton.

Why It's Happening Here

Eastfield's developer has pointed to the site's location as the reason it works: sitting right at the intersection of I-95 (the East Coast's main north-south corridor) and Highway 70/future I-42, it's positioned to draw not just local Johnston County shoppers but travelers passing through on I-95 as well.

The project also sits within a designated Opportunity Zone, which brought development incentives into the mix.

What It Means for Selma

Selma has always had its own identity — a historic railroad town with antique shops and a walkable downtown on Raiford Street. Eastfield Crossing doesn't replace that; it adds something Selma didn't have before: large-format national retail, options that previously required a longer drive.

For a county adding 10,000 people a year, that kind of retail growth isn't optional — it's catching up to demand that's already here.

Curious what this kind of growth means for home values and opportunity in Selma? Let's talk about what you're looking for.