Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012

After lag, housing project gets new life

Price tags in Sutton Springs will be more affordable

Five years ago, a developer wanted to build about 90 sprawling, expensive homes in the southern part of town. The plans were a symbol of good times: People had money, and they wanted to spend it on elaborate houses.

In 2007 and 2008, workers built roads and sidewalks through a piece of land off New Bethel Church Road, paving the way for the upscale Sutton Springs subdivision.

They laid water and sewer lines and even put up a brick entrance to the neighborhood.

Then the economy crashed. The plans were abandoned and the only house that has gone up belongs to the original landowner.

But now, Sutton Springs is getting a second chance.

This time around, though, a new developer is counting on a different kind of housing model, one that is more in line with today's homebuyer mentality - cheaper and less fancy.

"Times were different," said Rich Ohmann, a division manager for Timberstone Homes, the development firm that took over Sutton Springs in November. "Everybody was buying McMansions."

Timberstone plans to build 51 homes in its first phase of construction and later add nearly 40 more. The Garner Town Council has to put its stamp of approval on the project, but Timberstone is already moving forward.

The big difference from the original project is the price tag.

Originally, the plan was to build $500,000 houses in the neighborhood near N.C. 50. Now houses are expected to range from $220,000 to $280,000.

The cheaper price doesn't necessarily mean smaller homes, Ohmann said. The houses would be between 2,700 and 4,100 square feet, each on up to three-quarters of an acre.

But the houses would have less ornate trim.

Buyers aren't so enamored with tall columns and custom details these days, Ohmann said.

Some town leaders said the project's revival would be a welcome addition to Garner, where new housing has slumped the last several years.

"It will be good to see it come back," said Councilman Gra Singleton.

Even so, Singleton said he couldn't help but wish those $500,000 homes had become reality. He has pushed for bringing more expensive homes to Garner to boost the tax base.

In 2006, during the height of the housing boom, developers built 488 houses in Garner.

Two years later, the number nosedived to 93.

In 2010, the town got 59 new homes, up slightly from 53 the prior year.

"I think most everybody would like to see more expensive housing," said Town Planner Brad Bass. "But at the same time, you have to be realistic."

Ohmann said that's exactly what Timberstone is being.

The Indianapolis-based company has been taking over defunct development projects in the Triangle and beyond.

The company recently bought a 130-lot subdivision in Fuquay-Varina, Ohmann said.

And in September, Timberstone took over Lynwood Estates, a stalled 17-lot subdivision near the White Oak shopping center in Garner.

The company has already sold six homes in the neighborhood, Ohmann said. Houses there range from $180,000 to $270,000.

"We've been knocked out by how many houses we've been selling in Garner," Ohmann said.

He's confident home buyers will want to live in Sutton Springs, where ponds are already stocked with fish and weeds have been cut down to make way for construction.

"We're just tickled pink that we found the place," Ohmann said.