| THE VILLAGES - 12/19/2003 Read entire article from the Daily Journal Daily Journal By Gary Perilloux Daisy Aycock envisioned her home in The Villages before the first stud stood. "The first time I came out here I picked this lot," the retired Tupelo High School math teacher. "And it's exactly what I wanted." The 89-acre residential development consists of seven planned communities off Coley Road in west Tupelo, where building began one year ago. Aycock faced downsizing from 3,600 square feet to about half that space. But she's glad she made the move in April. With tall custom cabinetry, she gained enough space to keep all the dishes from her former huge kitchen. A double-sided gas log fireplace warms her dining and living rooms. And her scored concrete floor - a special request during construction - leads to a similarly stained concrete patio beside Village Lake. From there, she and her 10-year-old dog, Sambo, take daily eight-mile jogs. "I'm a runner and it's got to have running paths," said Aycock, who scrapped plans to move to a golf course-based subdivision in favor of The Villages. "It's close to town and I like to go to the theater and activities. I like being close to town." New markets T he Villages developers - Bill Doughty of Premier Builders and Donald Coleman of Gum Tree Fabrics - were looking to tap just such a market of Daisy Aycocks when they began the project in 1998. They aimed for a development with electronic gated security; a clubhouse, swimming pool, lakes and 2.5 miles of walking trails; floor plans with porches and low-traffic cul-de-sacs that encourage neighborliness; and neighborhoods within The Villages that create their own sense of identity. With more than 30 housing starts the first year, Doughty believes the planned 389-unit development can be built out within seven years. At the midpoint, Premier Builders will construct a retail center with possibly a delicatessen, hair salon, and dry cleaners along the boulevard entrance. It will match the identity of The Villages, where Arkansas fieldstone pillars and antique iron fences surround the communities. Three villages are under way: Madison Square, where Aycock was the first resident; Camellia Place, a 44-lot village for residents 55 and older; and Georgetown Village, a 31-lot community of rear-garage alley homes influenced by the architecture of New Orleans and the Georgetown area of greater Washington, D.C. "We saw the need for a community that developed a lifestyle," Doughty said. "And we looked around and saw a lot of major cities where that was happening and didn't know any reason why it shouldn't happen here. "And we also had a really strong feeling about west Tupelo. It seemed to be one of the most desirable residential areas." Retirement, security A s individual villages approach completion, Premier Builders will engage electronic gates that residents will open via remote controls. Once inside, they'll punch in codes through dedicated communications lines to allow access to guests who've called them from phone sets at the gates. Such security features, complete kitchen appliances (including GE refrigerators and water filters) and maintenance-free lawn care options have helped drive demand at Camellia Place, where homes are completed or under way on nearly half the 44 lots. Doris Ramage, who moved to The Villages in July, decided to downsize after her husband's death. She immediately found a sense of community in Camellia Place. "This is just like an extended family out here," Ramage said. "I was in real estate for more than 20 years and this was absolutely the simplest thing as far as having a house built. The builders handled it. You just went and picked out your stuff in the office and that was it." Open floor plans helped ease her downsizing from Ridgeway, she said. "I had my Bible study group here last night and you can get a lot of people in here," Ramage said. "The open plans are a real trend out here now," said Nat Grubbs, marketing agent for The Villages. "And almost everybody has chosen one." Elizabeth Ford, a retired North Mississippi Health Services vice president, chose The Mayfield, one of more than 30 floor plans available in Camellia Place. The living area, which leads from an open kitchen across a dining room and living room to a fireplace, includes three ceiling fans and five seating areas. French doors access a rear screened porch that leads down a stone path to a cedar pergola overlooking verdigris patio furniture. "(The environment) is what attracted me," Ford said. "It's just more of a community here because we all have a lot in common. There's no through-traffic, no children's bikes that you'd run into. And the fact that it's a gated community - the security aspect appealed to me." Future developments Front garages in Camellia Place provide easier access for older residents while Madison Square at the center of the development features side-load garages and Georgetown Village to the southeast offers rear lanes for back garages, Grubbs said. Larger floor plans - up to 3,200 square feet - gear Madison and Georgetown more for families. The next village - McClellen Place - will consist of 1,600- to 1,800-square-foot luxury townhomes. And because demand for single-family homes is high, the developers have converted plans for apartments in Belle Harbour - at the south end of Village Lake - to condominiums or townhomes also. Of the two remaining villages on the west end of the property - Scottsburg Landing and Deer Valley - tentative plans call for townhomes in Deer Valley and apartments in Scottsburg. "It's permitted (for apartments)," Doughty said of property zoning. "And everybody out here is aware of that. If we have multi-family units, it will be by far the most upscale in Tupelo. It will be an asset to the community." When construction is 75-percent complete, management of the clubhouse and swimming pool will convert to The Villages Homeowners Association, which assesses a $350 annual fee for maintenance. Optional landscape and lawn care costs $83 a month, but Grubbs said that feature isn't forced on homeowners but offered as a service for those who want it. In all, 20 acres of lakes, 6-foot-wide walking trails and common areas are included in The Villages. The clubhouse features a banquet room, kitchen, conference room, exercise room and adjoining poolhouse with restrooms beside the pool. Home prices begin in the upper $130,000 area, Grubbs said. "An average price is in the mid-$150,000 range," he said. "The base prices include everything that's included in the brochure but people can upgrade and be as creative as they want to be in designing their home - especially the interior. And we've seen that a lot, so what you end up with is a semi-custom home." Read entire article from the Daily Journal |