THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502160116
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Real Estate
SOURCE: Chris Kidder
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Over the years, I've written about dozens of subdivisions on the Outer Banks and in nearby communities. This week and next we'll see how five of these developments have progressed.
Outer Banks developers aren't the only ones in northeastern North Carolina selling waterfront living to second-home and retirement home buyers.
Several communities along the Albemarle Sound have attracted the attention of empty nesters from the Northeast. Weary of crime, traffic and concrete, they come here for the benefits of small town living, the Albemarle's natural beauty and the South's mild winters.
They come to stretch their dollars, too: Low taxes and cheap real estate (comparatively speaking) mean a New York City pension goes a lot further. And if they can get water views in the bargain, so much the better.
Near Hertford, the 1,500-acre Albemarle Plantation offers homesites along the soundfront and on Yeopim Creek, a wide, deep, sheltered harbor. Property owners have a private, 200-slip, deep water marina on the creek just minutes from the Intracoastal Waterway.
While water plays a key role, the championship Sound Golf Links designed by Dan Maples is Albemarle Plantation's raison d'etre. The course is operated as a separate business, but property owners are guaranteed membership if they want it. The waterside clubhouse and restaurant, a 25-meter swimming pool and bath house are part of the golf club package. Tennis courts are scheduled to be built later.
In May 1992, when I first visited Albemarle Plantation, 80 of the development's 500 Phase I homesites were sold.
Today, says Kristy Green, Albemarle Plantation sales manager, the total is 127.
In 1992, only one house was complete; now there are 15 homes with three more under construction.
The Phase I master plan called for 100 condominiums. But developers here, like those of a half-dozen other area communities I could mention, have had problems gauging the market for this essentially urban home.
Initially the developer saw condominiums coming into the housing mix late in Phase I. But by spring of 1992, the timetable had been pushed ahead: I was told 20 of the multi-family units would be finished that summer. It didn't happen.
Today, six dockside condo units are finished; 12 are under construction with work on six more scheduled to start in a few weeks. Twenty-one units are sold.
When Phase II opens, the area will have 450 single family homesites with an average price of $75,000 and land for a second 18-hole golf course.
In 1992, the developer hoped Phase I would be sold out by 1997. Today, Green isn't willing to predict any dates. She points to new construction, new landscaping, and the completion of the recreational facilities as positive signs that the project is moving ahead.
Another soundfront ``plantation'' is taking shape just a few miles upstream at Edenton. Edenton Bay Plantation is rising on the site of the historic Hayes Farm, once owned by Samuel Johnson, an early Tar Heel governor.
Samuel's son deeded the farm to Edward Wood, his advisor, shortly after the War Between the States. The farm has remained in the Wood family every since.
The present owner, Gilliam Wood, is the developer along with his sons, John and Edward, and a roster of community development experts. Wood and his family will continue to live on the property.
When I wrote about Wood's project in December 1993, it was called simply Edenton Bay. The property fronted a natural harbor in the Albemarle Sound called Edenton Bay. The generic place name lacked a memorable marketing punch so ``Plantation'' was added.
Last year, the development got more than a new name. A marketing shake-up saw Sanderling's maven of community excellence, Lilias Morrison, leave the project. The duplex villas of Atlanta architect Ward Seymour were dumped in favor of single-family homes sporting the trendy Hilton Head design of Doug Corkern.
``We spent most of last year planning,'' says Edward Wood. Marketing has shifted to real estate shows held in major Northeast markets, he explains. ``These folks are looking for Main Street America with upscale culture. That's Edenton,'' says Wood.
There are 36 homesites in Edenton Bay's Phase I. Ten have been sold. Three were sold to one buyer for an 8,000 square-foot house now under construction; two to a builder for model homes, and one to Wood, who now lives in one of the development's two completed houses.
Lot prices range from $55,000 on a seven-homesite, planned unit development cul-de-sac to $250,000 for a one-acre soundfront estate.
Phase I does not include any amenities except for a private pier but with historic Edenton within walking distance and Edenton Bay at the doorstep, added attractions may not be necessary. Phase II, a larger, adjoining piece of land, is in the planning stages. MEMO: Chris Kidder covers Outer Banks real estate for The Carolina Coast. Send
comments and questions to her at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head, N.C. 27959. For
more information about Albemarle Plantation, call 1-800-523-5958. For
more information about Edenton Bay Plantation, call 800-206-3552.
by CNB