4 minute read
STONEWALL VILLAS
By William F. West
Work has started on a future upscale residential development northwest of downtown — and a real estate broker for the project cites a need for such housing in a tight market in Rocky Mount.
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Crews are constructing a street at what is going to be Stonewall Villas. The housing is going to be built to the west and northwest of the upscale River Falls at Stonewall residential area and to the west and southwest of the historic Stonewall Manor.
Real estate broker Michael Allen said Stonewall Villas is going to be a four-phase project with a total of 71 homes, with a minimum of 1,700 square feet and with prices starting at approximately $275,000.
“There’s nothing like this one,” Allen said.
Ingram Construction of Rocky Mount is the developer for the project, which Allen estimates is going to take approximately four to five years to complete.
“It’s all in the Lord’s hands,” Allen said with a smile and a laugh of the finishing time. “He has control of the weather and what happens.”
Allen said an important feature of the development is each home at Stonewall Villas is going to have built-in fire suppression systems, which is going to be a first for a neighborhood in Rocky Mount.
Allen also said a homeowners association is going to be in place to take care of mowing the lawns and maintaining the landscaping, so there is not going to be any worries about the grass and shrubbery.
Allen said another key feature of the future Stonewall Villas is the location.
The development is going to be on the northwest side of the Tar River from the Rocky Mount Mills development, close to many restaurants and stores, just off an expressway-like U.S. 64 and less than 10 minutes southeast of Interstate 95.
“It’s kind of an anchor,” Allen said. “The location is the center of Rocky Mount on the map.”
As for the clientele who would be interested in a home in Stonewall Villas, he said, “We’re hoping it appeals to people that want to come be in the middle of the activity that’s going on in Rocky Mount that don’t want to rent.”
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He said Phase I is going to be the scene of 11 lots, with Lot 1 to be the site of a model home to showcase some of the finishes and some of the products to be featured in the homes.
The homes can be built in bungalow or craftsman styles and a prospect can choose between having a one- or two-story residence constructed.
Allen said a prospect is going to be asked to put down a refundable deposit and, if he or she wants to move forward, he or she can meet with Ingram Construction on a plan and a price. Allen said CresCom Bank can offer financing programs.
Allen said a limited number of the residences are going to built as “specs,” that is, speculative homes, with no particular buyer in mind.
Asked why Stonewall Villas is being built, he gave the answer in one word: “Demand.”
Allen, 49, has been in the real estate business since 1996.
Allen said through the years there would be anywhere from 1,100-1,200 houses on the market in Edgecombe and Nash counties. Allen said by approximately 2015, the number was at approximately 900 and started rapidly decreasing.
He said the reason is demand has increased since the 2007-08 burst of the housing bubble nationwide and the financial collapse on Wall Street.
“So without the new construction to absorb the demand, the inventory just went away,” he said.
Overall, Allen said the demand in the real estate market in the Rocky Mount area now is the best since his father and business partner, Bob Allen, entered the real estate business in the early 1970s.
“Do we see anything that’s going to slow it down? No, not in the near future. With the demand and the growth of our area and the industry looking at our area, housing will remain strong, whether it’s sales or rentals,” Michael Allen said.
At the same time, the son is concerned about the lack of future housing, given civic and economic development officials having said approximately 3,500 people need to be ready to go to work at expanding or future industries.
Allen said his check of data showed 321 houses on the market in Edgecombe and Nash counties.
Allen said if one removes the extremes in prices, one is left with approximately 220 houses in the affordability range of those securing those future jobs. And he said such a situation is occurring while the rental market is already quite tight.
“We need all the new construction we can get,” he said.
He is particularly concerned because another large business or industrial prospect interested in locating in the Rocky Mount area is going to see a housing shortage.
He made clear he is proud of everything happening and moving forward in terms of economic development in Edgecombe and Nash counties.
“But our industry and the building industry could be a holdup,” he said.
Bob Allen was one of the key investors who developed River Falls at Stonewall. The father sold the site of the future Stonewall Villas to Stephen Ingram of Ingram Construction.
