The Virginian-Pilot
©
CHESAPEAKE
Tucked away about two miles south of Interstate 64 in Deep Creek, developers have begun work on a community aimed at the current sweet spot of the new homes market: price-conscious buyers.
Culpepper Landing, a 488-acre project of Robinson Development Group between the edges of the Great Dismal Swamp and its canal, has homes with prices that start at about $234,000 for a 1,400-square-foot rowhouse and go up to a little more than $500,000.
The strategy seems to be working. So far this year sales and interest have been strong at the community, said Tim Culpepper, vice president of Robinson Development.
To date, homebuilders have written contracts on 29 homes in the community and homeowners have moved into nearly a dozen homes there.
"Essentially what we're doing with these houses is taking the details and trim you'd see in a million-dollar home and putting it in a smaller house," said Culpepper, whose family owned the farmland since 1926.
The site also is the location of this year's Homearama, the Tidewater Builders Association's annual showcase of homes.
On Thursday, dozens of construction workers hammered nails and laid floor tiles in homes slated to be in this fall's show. Inside one of the unfinished homes, Culpepper stepped over extension cables and sawdust as he pointed out 10-foot-high ceilings and tall freshly painted doorways.
This October's Homearama originally was scheduled for North Shore at Ridgely Manor, an upscale development in Virginia Beach. It was moved to Hampton Roads Crossing, a northern Suffolk development, because the builders association wanted to highlight moderately priced homes. After homebuilders expressed little interest in that site, the event was again moved, this time to Culpepper Landing.
Homes in the show for this year will be priced around $400,000, and three of the homes have sold already, said Mary Prier, a spokeswoman for the association. This year's show is a departure from last fall's, in which homes started at $1.2 million. Of the seven homes showcased last year, only one has sold, and another is occupied by the builder.
Aside from the price, Culpepper attributed part of the community's initial success to its traditional fee-simple ownership, as opposed to condominium-style ownership.
"Not only do you own your house, but you own your dirt and your grass," he said.
Robinson Development planned the community to have 1,005 units, including 135 apartments.
For Bridgette Reynolds, who with her husband, Michael, signed a contract on a rowhouse two weeks ago, the two-car garage was one of her unit's biggest selling points.
"It seemed like all the other homes around here, even new homes, had only a one-car garage," said Reynolds, 29. "I'd never really been big on sharing walls with someone, but I like the ways these are set up."
Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com
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Not Grassfield High School For Long
This area is slated to be rezoned back to Deep Creek High from Grassfield High. Check the Chesapeake Public Schools website for the rezone proposal. The School Board is scheduled to meet 12 October and vote 26 October. Beware.
Culpepper Landing
After reading several of the negative comments about this new development, I wonder... Have these people ever walked through this development or looked at these new houses? My family and I have been in the market for a new home and we have visited every new development in Hampton Roads. When we visited Culpepper Landing we found something unique. These houses are not cookie cutter copies of each other. Their features are unique and full of old fashioned class: crown moldings, big front porches, upgraded fixtures, and cement board siding. But, the most impressionable thing that we found in Culpepper Landing was pride. In no other development could we find the builders and developer wandering the houses and streets willing to share their homes and community with us. In no other development did we feel the pride of construction and the welcome to the "family" atmosphere. I think that the developers at Culpepper are tapping into something unique and my family and I are looking forward to moving into the neighborhood. We know that traffic is an issue. (It is the same no matter where you live in HR.) We trust that the developers will follow through with their commitments and
Good job with the plug! Are
Good job with the plug! Are you related to any of the businesses involved with this project?
Grassfield District
I checked the school districts and Culpepper is indeed zoned for Grassfield. I'm not really sure how, as it looks like a clear case of gerrymandering, but that's local politics I guess.
Also, I love the profit margain quotes on here. There is no builder on the planet that gets 100 to 300% margains, trust me. The simple fact is, with land prices (they have not come down in this market), material prices (they've actually went up), and $350,000 new home in a good area (with good schools) is a deal in Hampton Roads.
Yes Ethan, Austin and Raleigh may have cheaper homes, but as another poster pointed out, real estate is a local industry. In HR, we are confined by water, Green Lines, santinitation districts, swamps etc.... and really have very little land for future residential growth. This will keep our housing prices relatively stable (along with our military occupation) for years to come. Austin and Raleigh both have plenty of land for expansion and future supply which will keep the prices of new homes down.
Lumber is nearly half the
Lumber is nearly half the price it was in 1999. Did wages and salaries in home construction go up 100%+ in the past 10 years? Where is this supposed "cost of materials" that went up so much to justify the new home construction "costs" that is charged today?
$350,000 is 'reasonable'? In an area where the median salary is short of $50,000? It used to be where a McDonald's manager could afford a small decent house but now days it's a trailer park mobile home. Where are all these jobs paying over $100,000? Only until decent 2,500 to 3,000 houses are selling for $150,000 to $175,000 will I consider buying one.
Those who *CAN* afford to
Those who *CAN* afford to buy in end up with much less product than they would have gotten a few years ago (before the fraud and deceit that is the credit bubble).
I agree with the prior post that land prices are high. But that doesn't mean you should pay it. Tell the person to get bent. Builders had land contracts to buy land at bubble prices, and in many cases they let these contracts expire.
I've heard the "they aren't making any more land." Yes, Manhattan is land locked and out of room. Hampton Roads is not.
Go look at the Granby gogo thread and notice other locals talking about how the cool young professional people that used to hang out on Granby at night seem to be gone. Then look around at all the for rent signs.
You're going to run out of Navy people and young folks that haven't educated themselves on whats going on at some point, then prices plummet. The only hope the gov't has it to cause another, bigger fraud fueled housing bubble.
Culpepper Landing
This development has some pluses and minuses. On the plus side, the homes are reasonably priced (not affordable however). They are generally selling single family homes in the $350,000 to $375,000 range with some homes being a little less and some being a little more. Even in today's market, that is pretty decent for a new home. For a single family home to be priced much less, you have to be building them very small or be building on a very cheap piece of land. The development also has nice amenities, is a big, planned community and is adjacent to the dismal swamp/wetland areas (no neighbors).
On the downside, the community is located in the new Deep Creek High School District (it is new due to the rezoning of the districts after Grassfield High opened). This district may be the worst in the City in terms of socioeconomics. The traffic will also be an issue. I believe the developer is responsible for widening Geo. Washington Highway before the issuance of the 100th certificate of occupancy. This widening will help open up a path to I-64 but the Army Corps' bridge will continue to be one lane which will create a bottle neck. I'm not certain if there are plans to replace
And, for what it's worth...
I like the looks of the neighborhood so far. I wanted to get there for the sneak preview last weekend, but didn't get the opportunity. I think the "front porch community" style is wonderful and especially like the idea of shopping within walking distance. My husband and I ride through the neighborhood every couple of months to see the progress. I have my eye on one of those little craftsman homes down the road for retirement...
Over the past couple of
Over the past couple of years, I've been getting my facts from people who supposedly are in the know, but what does that mean? So correct me if I'm wrong. I was told that there was some switching of school districts so that Culpepper Landing students would be assigned to Grassfield (to make the sale of these homes much more appealing).
Grassfield is the high school zoned for Culpepper Landing
This was the reason I am currently looking in this neighborhood. Grassfield is the newst school and they are pulling some of the best teachers in the area.