THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606260616
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 39 lines
Rural Isle of Wight County took a further step into suburbanization Tuesday with the announcement that more than 200 expensive houses are to be added to the popular Gatling Pointe residential development.
Branch Lawson, president of the Hampton Roads Division of East West Partners of Virginia, Gatling Pointe's developers, said that the newest section of the subdivision, Gatling Pointe South, will be expanded by 36 home sites. Another 170 are on the drawing board.
For the announcement, real estate agents and builders were invited to lunch and a tour of some of the newer homes in the community, many of them Southern Living magazine designs.
The expansion, Lawson said, will include an ``old-fashioned'' park with picnic shelters, a baseball field, basketball courts and a lighted bike trail. It will be a ``nice place for family reunions and picnics,'' Lawson said.
The homes on Tuesday's tour included amenities like elaborate woodwork, whirlpool baths, gas fireplaces and what the developers call ``quality craftsmanship.''
``We've been very lucky with our builders,'' Lawson said. ``They've done a fine job. That's why we wanted to keep them informed. We've gotten preliminary plat approval on the expansion, and we're ready to go.''
Gatling Pointe, which opened in 1988, is located just outside the town limits of Smithfield, down winding, two-lane Battery Park Road, which slips into the fishing villages of Battery Park and Rescue.
Much of the development is bordered by the Pagan River and local creeks. About 320 homes are occupied, Lawson said, with several others under construction in the two established sections. Most of the dwellings sell for about $200,000.
Residents from 40 states visited the subdivision when the 1993 Peninsula Parade of Homes was staged, Lawson said. But Gatling Pointe's success started almost as soon as the subdivision opened, when potential buyers discovered that the community is within a few minutes of almost every major Hampton Roads city. by CNB