THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 29, 1996 TAG: 9606270309
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEANNE MOONEY, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: 264 lines
Here are some of the new developments in northern Suffolk.
Bayberry Cove: Bayberry Associates proposes to develop 164 lots for semi-custombuilt homes off Shoulders Hill Road.
The home sites would measure about one-quarter to one-third acre; the homes would range in size from 1,700 square feet to 3,000 square feet, says Carter McCrowell, engineer for the project and co-owner of Boundary First, P.C., a Virginia Beach survey and engineering firm. The homes would sell for $120,000 to $140,000, he estimates.
Picnic areas with benches, a half-court basketball area, walking trails and a park suitable for baseball play also are planned, McCrowell says.
``A kid on a bicycle could ride for an hour'' on the sidewalks and trails ``and never set foot in the same place,'' McCrowell says.
Bayberry Associates must still proceed through municipal review and win approval from city planners before it begins. The development will take four to five years to complete, McCrowell estimates.
Beamon's Mill: First-time home buyers are moving into this community off Nansemond Parkway, says Steve Kirkby, site superintendent at Beamon's Mill for Boyce-Widener LTD of Virginia Beach, the developer and builder.
Homes here range in size from about 1,250 square feet to 2,100 square feet, Kirkby says. They are built on lots that measure at least 5,000 square feet. And, on average, they sell for $90,000 to $95,000, Kirkby says.
``I started with 135 lots,'' Kirkby says of the development that is less than 3 years old. ``I've probably got six (lots) left.''
Bennett's Creek Landing: Custom homes built on lots of at least one-half acre comprise this community on the shores of Bennett's Creek and the Nansemond River.
Homes range in size from 2,200 square feet to 8,000 square feet, says Michael F. Carpenter, a partner with Towne Point Associates of Newport News, which is developing the land and selling the home sites. The homes sell for $200,000 on up; one home was assessed at nearly $1 million, Carpenter says.
The community also has a clubhouse, pool, deep water marina and pier, Carpenter says.
Approximately 15 of the 130 home sites have not been sold, Carpenter says. They will be bought in the next 12 months and the community will be built out within three years, he predicts.
Cedar Lake Shores: By the end of the year, Reubin Manning expects that homes will stand on all 93 lots he's developing at Cedar Lake Shores.
Only six lots are without homes and four of those soon will be sold to builders, says Manning, who is a builder and developer and president of Reubin Manning Inc., a Portsmouth-based firm. Lot sizes measure at least 10,000 square feet. Homes have sold for $99,000 to $135,000 here, he says.
Manning began developing this section of Cedar Lake Shores about four years ago.
Chatham Woods: Custom-designed and custom-built homes that typically sell for $145,000 to $180,000 make up this upscale community off Bennett's Pasture Road.
Chatham Woods Associates, L.L.C., is developing 63 lots here that range in size from one-third acre to almost an acre, says Porcher (pronounced Por-CHAY) Gregg Jr., manager for the developer. Forty-four of the lots have been sold, he says. And approximately 30 of those have homes on them, estimates Ruth Benjaminson, owner of Ashley-Paige Realty Inc. of Chesapeake and an agent for Chatham Woods.
The lots will be sold to builders by the end of the year and homes will stand on each by next spring, Gregg and Benjaminson predict.
Church of God and Saints of Christ: Approximately 1,600 homes - from single-family homes to condominiums to duplexes - are proposed for a residential and commercial development Church of God and Saints of Christ wants to start west of I-664 at Route 17. Plans are to put a hotel and conference center, retail shops, offices, a park and housing on the land, which Belleville Properties LTD, a holding company, would lease.
Church of God and Saints of Christ , the land owner, won zoning approval for its project eight years ago. And Elder Ezra Locke, superintendent for the church, says, ``We're holding to all things in the plan.''
But the development ``is not on the front burner,'' Locke says. ``We're waiting for the economy to build in the area.'' No startup date has been set, he says.
Driver Station: Picture a community where a gas lantern flickers in front of every home and a gas grill burns on every patio. Albie Viola sees that image. Viola, president of Viola Building Corp./A.E. Viola, Custom Builders, Chesapeake, is putting a gas lantern and an outlet for a gas grill in each of the 81-home sites he's developing off Bennett's Pasture Road, says Sylvia Bilby, site manager at Driver Station and a Realtor with GSH Real Estate.
Lot sizes measure at least one-third acre here. The homes typically will offer 2,000 square feet of living space and will start selling in the $120,000s, Bilby says.
Thirteen homes have been built or are under contract, she says. The development will be completed and occupied within three years, she says, referring to projections.
Habour View: Think big. At least 3,000 homes big. Now you've got part of the picture of Harbour View, a community that proposes a mix of homes, businesses, industry, recreation and municipal facilities within 2,000 acres in northern Suffolk.
Two residential developments are planned for Harbour View. One, called Burbage Grant, is located east of I-664 at Respass Beach Road.
As many as 1,735 homes - from townhomes to condominiums to single-family homes - are proposed for Burbage Grant, though the number may actually be closer to 1,500 when it is completed, says Robert T. Williams, executive vice president of The Jorman Group, the managing partner for Harbourview Partners, the developer.
The second is a golf-course community called West Village. Plans are for 1,500 homes - including some upscale and luxury homes set by the golf course or Nansemond River - to be built here. The property is located west of I-664.
Much of the action at Harbour View today is at Burbage Grant. Roughly 830 of the home sites have been sold to builders, Williams says. And builders have closed with homebuyers on about 500 of those properties, he says.
Meanwhile, the city is building a new elementary school in Burbage Grant and a 10,000-square-foot community center that will use part of the school. Both are to open this fall.
Lot sizes in Burbage Grant run from about 7,500 square feet to 15,000 square feet, Williams says. Single-family homes, such as those in the Burbage Lake Village section, sell for $109,000 to $130,000, he says. Other homes, such as those in the Castlewood Village section, can sell for $165,000 to $235,000. And duplexes and townhouses are selling in the $80,000s and $90,000s, he says.
Burbage Grant will be built and occupied by the end of 1998, with single-family homes selling out first, probably by the end of next year, Williams predicts. West Village, where homes will sell for $275,000 and up, will be built and occupied in about seven years, he says.
Hargrove Tavern: Travelers of long ago found comfort and lodging at a tavern located on Nansemond Parkway. Today they find a community of mid-priced homes being built.
Lots measure at least one-third acre here. The homes that will be built on them typically offer 2,500 square feet of living space, says Chesapeake attorney Rob Kinser, a shareholder with Eastland Development Corporation of Chesapeake, the developer. The homes will sell for $125,000 to $148,000.
Eastland Development Corp. has sold all 50 of its lots. Kinser predicts the community will be completely built and occupied in nine months to a year.
Mill Creek: A community of 183 homes is proposed for this subdivision located off Wilroy Road. The homes would be built on lots that measure at least one-third acre. Home prices were not disclosed. The developer could not be reached for comment.
Nansemond Crossing: ``It's completely built out. It went like a firecracker,'' says Rob Kinser, a Chesapeake attorney and a shareholder with Eastland Development Corp., the developer of this Nansemond Parkway community.
This 39-lot subdivision was completed in less than two years. The homes sold from the $80,000s to $120,000s, he says.
Nansemond River Estates: In a matter of days, crews will begin clearing land off Sleepy Hole Road to make way for a community Bay Builders of Chesapeake is developing and building.
Lots here measure at least one-third acre. The homes, made of brick, range in size from 2,000 to 2,500 square feet. They will sell for about $155,000 on up, says Robert J. Scott, financial adviser for Bay Builders.
Bay Builders is expecting city planners to grant final approval for the 161-lot project soon. It won preliminary plat approval 14 months ago.
Pughsville Estates: Pughsville Building Corp. of Norfolk proposes to develop and build 17 affordable homes off Town Point Road.
The home sites would measure at least one-third acre; the homes would sell, on average, from $95,000 to $105,000, says Rick Byers, president of Pughsville Building Corp.
The project needs approval from city planners before it gets under way. The city granted the project preliminary plat approval 14 months ago but required the developer to reach an agreement with the city's Parks and Recreation Department on providing a recreational area.
The developer offered a one-acre parcel, complete with a tot lot and picnic tables, but the city said it was not centrally located. In the end, the developer paid $7,500 to the city in lieu of providing land. The money will be used for parks equipment in Pughsville. The city says it is looking for a site to put the equipment.
Schooner Cove: If you enjoy golf, you probably will like what this community offers: putting-distance proximity to Sleepy Hole Golf Course.
Jay Homes Inc. of Virginia Beach is developing 24 lots at the entrance to Schooner Cove, an established development off Sleepy Hole Road. The lots are the last available here, says John Dennis, owner of Jay Homes Inc.; the lots measure at least one-third acre.
The homes offer 2,000 to 2,600 square feet of living space. They will fetch $140,000 to $160,000, Dennis estimates.
``We'd like to do 12 a year,'' Dennis says of the pace of sales and construction. So far, he has built three homes and is preparing to start a fourth.
Sleepy Point Estate: Brick and stucco homes built on the shores of the Nansemond River comprise this exclusive community.
Here lots measure at least three-fourths of an acre; some exceed one and a half acres, says Bob Beale, president of Sleepy Point Estate Property Owners' Association. The association requires that home exteriors be stucco or brick or another approved material and that home interiors measure at least 3,000 square feet for a two-story home and at least 2,500 feet for a single-story home.
Homes start at around $285,000, Beale estimated. ``There are some, I'm sure, that are over $1 million,'' he says.
Fifty-eight lots are found in this development, Beale says. ``All of them have basicallly been sold,'' he says. As many as 43 lots have homes on them, but about 10 of those are under construction.
Steeplechase: Alan Resh Group of Virginia Beach plans to develop a community off Shoulders Hill Road where homes would sell from the low $90,000s into the $160,000s. The community would be the first phase of a larger development, says Beth Hughes, sales and marketing director for Alan Resh Group.
``We're going a section at a time,'' Hughes says. About 340 home sites are in the first phase, she says. Plans are for the lots to range in size from about 6,300 square feet to 13,000 square feet.
The developer must proceed through municipal review and win final approval from city planners before it proceeds.
Suburban Woods: Semi-custombuilt homes that offer sun rooms and a choice of floor plans and sell for $110,000 to $130,000 are planned for this development off Suburban Drive.
Napolitano Homes of Virginia Beach is building homes on 175 lots here, says Vincent A. Napolitano, company president. ``We're going after the market Chesapeake has shirked,'' he says. ``You can't buy a house in that range any more in Chesapeake. You'll be paying in the $140,000s on up.''
Napolitano's homes will be built on wooded lots of at least 10,000 square feet. The homes will range in size from 1,700 square feet to 2,500 square feet, he says. The community will take three to four years to build out.
Tidewater Community College: Tidewater Community College owns about 240 acres of surplus property near its Portsmouth campus in Suffolk. Roughly 100 acres of that land, situated east of I-664, has been zoned for residential use.
The college has not been actively marketing or developing the property, says Al L. Cecchini, director of facilities management for the college. But then again, the college never intended to play developer. ``The college is not in the real estate business,'' he says.
Options? ``We could just sell it,'' Cecchini says. That ultimately requires the governor's approval. Cecchini says he expects to see some activity with the land in the next couple of years.
Warrington: Brick ranches, contemporary and Cape Cod-style homes that have sold from $142,000 to $185,000 can be found in this community off Bennett's Pasture Road.
The homes typically offer 2,000 to 2,500 square feet of living space, says Dwight Schaubach, president of Bay Builders of Chesapeake, the builder and developer. They are built on lots that measure at least one-third acre.
Begun five years ago, the 75-lot development is all but sold out. Only the model has not been spoken for; it lists for $181,000, says Norma Price, site manager for Bay Builders and a Realtor with William E. Wood and Associates Realtors.
Woodlake: Homebuyers wanting larger lots and a respite from congested city living are moving into this lakeside community off Nansemond Parkway, says Bill Darden, marketing director for Hearndon Construction Corp. of Chesapeake.
So are Suffolk residents. Ten to 15 percent of those buying and building here are from the city, Darden says. ``We're getting more people from Suffolk than we originally anticipated,'' he says.
Homes here are built on lots measuring at least one-third acre. The homes typically offer 2,000 square feet of living space and sell in the $120,000s, he says.
Woodlake opened for sales 18 months ago. Since then, 102 of the 211 home sites have been sold, Darden says. And 70 families have moved in. Woodlake is slightly ahead of schedule, Darden says. He expects that the community will be built out in another 18 months. by CNB