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Village Center Construction Races On, Against The Clock 10/15/2006

Million-dollar homes are expected to line the road leading into the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa by next spring, as development continues at a heady pace in the western Hoover community.

Residential construction has begun in Ross Bridge's Village Center, where plans call for a park, retail and office space and about 200 homes, including 14 individual designs called the Estates of Grand Avenue.

With features such as pools, terraces, wraparound porches and a tower, each of the Grand Avenue homes will be among the most showcased homes in the community, said Ross Bride General Manager Jeff Boyd.

"The are inspired by some of the old homes in (Birmingham's) Forest Park and homes in historic resort towns," he said. "They"re designed to have an individual story."

Designed by Dungan Nequette Architects and built by Signature Homes, the houses will range in size from 4000 to 6000 square feet and in price from $800,000s to more then $1million.

Although no typically a custom builder, Signature Homes signed on for the product because of the rare opportunity to create something outside of its daily routine, said Jonathan Belcher, president of the company's Birmingham division.

The challenge, he said, will be time constraints because the homes are supposed t be completed in time for the Regions Charity Classic golf tournament at Ross Bridge in May.

"Our goal is to start one a week as the plans are ready," he said, adding that architects are still working on the homes — interior details. "Within three or four weeks, we should be able to finalize the pricing and start offering them to the public."

Signature Homes is busy elsewhere in the Village Center too. The company, now based in Pelham, is building all of the Village Center homes, as well as a 15,000-square-foot corporate headquarters on Ross Bridge Parkway.

The 1,600-acre Ross Bridge community is a joint venture of Daniel Corp., USS Real Estate and the Retirement Systems of Alabama. Long-range plans call for nearly 1,800 single-family homes and 600 multifamily units to join the hotel and spa that opened last year.

Real estate choices range from garden homes with an average starting price of $250,000 to custom homes that top $1million.

Since home construction began in June 2005, Ross Bridge has had 196 closings, a pace that exceeded the developer's expectations and accelerated their business plan, Boyd said.

Now, three of the community's inaugural neighborhoods-Abbeyglen, Freestone Ridge, and Greenside-are nearly sold out, while construction continues in the others: Bellevue, Butler Springs and Chalybe.

Home sites also are being prepared in two new neighborhoods: Glasscottt and Haddon.

In the Village Center, work is expected to begin by the end of the month on Ross Park, which will include a pool and playground. More office and retail space also is planned possibly including a coffee shop, dry cleaners, and pharmacy, Boyd said.