ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 16, 1996 TAG: 9611180052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FINCASTLE
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
The land deal has been closed, and the first stages of construction have begun on Ashleigh Plantation, a proposed 300-home subdivision with a golf course along U.S. 220 in Botetourt County.
Developer A.R. Overbay paid just over $2 million for 423 acres of farmland owned by Woodhill Corp., according to a deed filed this month in Botetourt Circuit Court. Woodhill is owned in large part by developer and cattle rancher T.D. Steele.
In March 1995, Woodhill petitioned in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for protection from creditors during reorganization. The company had to seek permission from several creditors to sell the land to Overbay. Roanoke Farm Credit, Hollins College, Crestar Bank, Branch & Associates, Integon Insurance Co. and Botetourt County all approved the sale in December, according to documents in Botetourt Circuit Court.
Steele paid $1.1million for the land nearly 20 years ago.
Earth-moving equipment has already begun carving out roadways for the development, which was strongly opposed by nearby residents when the land came up for rezoning last spring.
The development is controversial because it catapults high-density housing into a part of the county previously protected from it by the lack of sewer lines. Overbay, however, is willing to put in the 1.8 miles of sewer.
Under the county's zoning ordinances, houses dependent on septic tanks have to be on 1.25 acre lots or larger. But with a sewer system, the lots can be as small as a half-acre.
Ashleigh Plantation also will feature a number of town homes, another first for the northern reaches of Botetourt County. The golf course will be built in phases of six holes each.
Overbay said Friday construction is somewhat behind schedule. The first houses should be ready for sale in late summer, he said. Construction on the golf course, which will take about two years, should begin this spring.
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