Ross Bridge - Residence lots already in high demand

Ross Bridge residence lots already in high demand
Wednesday, April 27, 2005

DAWN KENT

News staff writer

Ross Bridge is quickly becoming Hoover's hottest new address with preconstruction demand that is creating a buzz across the Birmingham area real estate market.

Potential residents of the developing community west of Shades Mountain have reserved about 90 of the 102 lots where Signature Homes plans to build houses. Signature Homes' lots, for houses in the $300,000 range, are the first to open for reservations, and industry officials are impressed by the demand.

Bill Crawford, executive vice president for the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders, called the reservations response "phenomenal." The closest he's seen to this type of demand was during development in Hoover's Russet Woods subdivision, when builders drew names out of a hat to secure lots, he said. "This is hotter than that," Crawford said. "The difference here is this is not builders reserving lots. These are consumers buying them, before they even see a house."

1,600-acre development:

Ross Bridge, a joint venture of Daniel Corp., USS Real Estate and the Retirement Systems of Alabama, covers 1,600 acres that will feature a luxury hotel and championship golf course, as well as residential areas. Long-range plans call for nearly 1,800 detached single-family homes, 600 multi-family units and a village retail center. To kick off the community, six neighborhoods with a total of 550 houses should be complete by the end of 2006.

Because of the high level of interest in the Ross Bridge houses, Signature Homes officials decided to contact everyone who had expressed interest and give them all the same opportunity to call and reserve a lot on a specific day, company CEO Dwight Sandlin said. On that one day, April 6, 76 reservations were made. Sandlin said he has been in the homebuilding industry 20 years and "we've never had anything like that" on houses this size. Since then, the reservations have reached about 90. A reservation requires a $2,500 refundable deposit. The first person on the reservation list will have the first chance to pick a lot once the lots are ready for sale, Sandlin said.

The lots are almost ready for construction, and Signature Homes will start building about 12 houses of various styles within the next few weeks, he said.

Signature Homes will build in the Greenside and Freestone Ridge neighborhoods. Meanwhile, HPH Properties plans to start taking reservations for its lots in the Abbeyglen neighborhood within three to four weeks, said Margi Ingram, vice president of sales and marketing for Daniel Homes. Ingram said she expects similar demand for the other neighborhoods that will open in the coming months. Chalybe, Bellevue and Butler Springs are on that list, with options ranging from garden homes to custom single-family homes.

She attributes the high demand to the amenities Ross Bridge will offer, saying residents can build a lifestyle around the golf course and hotel, as well as parks and a planned elementary school.

"You never have to leave your neighborhood," she said.