The Alexander City Outlook

New project starting

A local developer is building a lake accessible residential development in Alexander City that, once completed, will be a community within a community in a city that saw the growth of the housing market slow long before the mortgage crisis.

“We are real excited,” Mayor Barbara Young said. “The kind of development that it will be is going to fulfill a niche that is not available at this time.”

The developers, Maple Leaf Homes, are currently in the beginning stages of the first phase of the development. Its name will be StoneBridge and the development will be built off of Alabama 63.

After completion of the first phase, 90 of the 658 residences will be built on a 345-acre plot of land.

The development will feature a boardwalk where boats can be docked, walking trails and an 8,000 square foot waterfront clubhouse, with an exercise facility and a customized swimming pool. Prices will begin in the low $200,000s and will go up from there to accommodate homeowners who want custom designs.

Young said the development could provide a long-term economic boost to the area. During the construction of the development, which will take years, new jobs will be generated and tax revenue will increase as supplies are purchased at local stores and as ad valorem tax collections begin to roll in.

Timothy Evans, vice president of Maple Leaf’s sister company DE General, said the development will be a “Traditional Neighborhood Development.” Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) are all-inclusive neighborhoods that are planned in their entirety from the beginning.

Better known TNDs include the Gulf Coast community of Seaside, Fla., and Mt. Laurel in the Birmingham area. They are characterized by coordinating streetlights, street signs and sidewalks and are known for their town squares that are usually filled with bakeries and sandwich shops.

“Everything was thought out, everything has a place and everything is tied together,” Evans said.

Maple Leaf, which is a Southern Living homebuilder, will build each home in the development using Southern Living house plans and products, Evans said.

“People, especially in the south, love Southern Living plans,” Evans said. “A Southern Living home is going to have that time-honored look.”

Neighborhood covenants for StoneBridge would be similar to those in most new subdivisions but have not yet been completed. Maple Leaf is currently working to complete the infrastructural development of phase one, and Evans said they will begin pouring roads this week.

The company is currently working with the Alabama Department of Transportation to complete a turning lane that is the last project that must be finished before development begins. Evans said they expect the turn lane will be completed by August 1 and plan to begin building in the fall.