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New JMU student housing on West Grace Street |
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![]() Photo Source: Moseley Architects I'm not sure if we call this on campus or off campus housing, but JMU is building a new residence hall on West Grace Street that will feature approximately 507 beds, various student life spaces, classrooms, seminar spaces, administrative offices, and other support spaces. Read more via The Breeze here. | |
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Preston Lake no longer underwater |
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![]() Preston Lake, a large (500-ish unit) mixed use development east of Harrisonburg began selling homes in 2008, was foreclosed on by Wells Fargo in 2011, and was then acquired by a developer out of Maryland in 2012. Here are a few updates of what has been happening since the new developer has taken over....
Take a drive through Preston Lake sometime soon to see the changes that are under way, and if you have questions, feel free to email (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) or call me (540-578-0102). Some Preston Lake reading material from the archives....
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Paired homes proving popular at The Glen at Cross Keys |
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![]() The Glen at Cross Keys, Harrisonburg's first paired home community, is located just east of Harrisonburg on Cross Keys Road. The latest floor plans are the Sycamore and Paired Sycamore model (pictured above) that feature an open first floor plan with a two story great room. Click on the image below to view a photo set from a recent Sycamore home at The Glen at Cross Keys. ![]() Click here to view available homes at The Glen at Cross Keys. | |
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News from Heritage Estates, an active adult community located in Harrisonburg, Virginia |
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![]() click here for a larger version of this image Heritage Estates is an active adult community located in Harrisonburg, Virginia featuring superb French Country architecture with flowing interior floor plans that are wonderful for entertaining. You'll also enjoy spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the golf course immediately beside Heritage Estates, the community swimming pool, and a maintenance-free lifestyle. Updates at Heritage Estates....
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New web site launches to showcase upscale paired homes at The Glen at Cross Keys |
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![]() Welcome to The Glen at Cross Keys, Harrisonburg's first paired home community. Located just east of Harrisonburg, these opposite side entry homes are a unique new addition to modern housing. With their private courtyards and an almost mansion-like look these homes are fun to visit, and even better to live in. The exteriors feature color-coordinated fiber cement board siding with stone facade entryways. Inside, you will find 9 foot ceilings, light-filled living areas, hardwood floors and many options and upgrades. Learn more about The Glen at Cross Keys on this new web site.... | |
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Door knobs are cool again! |
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![]() Brinks Home Security seems to have re-invented the door knob. Click here to learn more via Universal Design Partners. | |
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Low Maintenance Homes at The Glen at Cross Keys Selling Fast |
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![]() The Glen at Cross Keys, located on Cross Keys Road, just east of Harrisonburg offers mostly one-level living in these low-maintenance homes starting around $265K. The photos above are of the model home, which is now under contract. View the remainder of the photos in this Flickr photo set. View available (and under contract) homes at The Glen here. Or, email me at scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com to start customizing your home at The Glen. Oh, and the selling fast part? Our model home sold in February, so we built another -- which is under contract. And the next building up the street that is currently being constructed --- one side is under contract, and the other side likely will be this week. | |
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Last chance to customize a Liberty Square II townhouse! |
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![]() You have one more chance to customize a Liberty Square II townhouse --- as there is only one townhouse remaining in the development. The model home is shown above, and will be under contract later this week. Send me an email (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) if you're interested in buying a townhouse at Liberty Square II. Now is the time to act! | |
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THE ICE HOUSE, an innovative mixed-use redevelopment project in Downtown Harrisonburg is officially underway |
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Local developers, Barry Kelley and Andrew Forward, are at it again -- transforming a downtown structure into an inspiring new space. Some of Barry and Andrew's past projects include City Exchange, Urban Exchange and The Walton Hotel. VISION - Some of the ideas that have been discussed for The Ice House include:
![]() LOCATION - The Ice House will be a transformation of the former Cassco ice plant located at 217 S. Liberty Street. As you can see, it's not a very exciting sight right now.... ![]() ZONING - The City of Harrisonburg has approved a rezoning request for 217 S. Liberty Street and the adjacent building, 115 W. Bruce Street. HISTORICAL TAX CREDITS; GRANT - One of the only reasons that this project is able to move forward is because of the historical tax credits available for the project. INDUSTRIAL REVITALIZATION FUND GRANT - Harrisonburg received a $500,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's Industrial Revitalization Fund. This grant is effectively a low-cost loan that will be available for the development of The Ice House. COMMERCIAL TENANTS - Conversations are ongoing, but James Madison University has confirmed that they will occupy some of the space in The Ice House. One of the JMU offices that will relocate to The Ice House is communications, marketing and public affairs. Additional current plans for the commercial space include a restaurant, a mint operation and a yoga studio. SCOPE, TIMING - The transformation of this 80,000 square foot building is estimated to cost $10 million and the aim is to have it substantially complete by the end of 2014. STATUS - A detailed master plan is currently being developed to include 217 S. Liberty Street, 115 W. Bruce Street, as well as a 104-space parking lot on a parcel diagonally across West Bruce Street. ![]() | |
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Explore New Homes in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County |
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![]() Click here to explore new homes for sale in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Let me know if you'd like details on any of these properties for sale. | |
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New Urbanist Community, Collicello North, under development in Harrisonburg |
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![]() Collicello North is a new community being developed on the north end of Collicello Street (see map below) being developed as a smaller, more intimate and sustainable neighborhoods within walking distance of entertainment, recreation, shopping and public transportation. Dean Weavers of Blue Ridge Architects explains his vision for the community: Read more on the Blue Ridge Architects blog. ![]() | |
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Details of Sale of Preston Lake Subdivision |
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![]() The bulk of Preston Lake subdivision (mostly undeveloped building lots) was foreclosed on in 2011, but last week was purchased by a neighboring land owner --- a developer from Maryland. After some further research, here is what was conveyed:
Thus, if we ignore the fact that roads, water and sewer need to be installed on those 43.5 acres (outlined above in red), this was essentially the purchase of:
And here is a bit of context on the purchase price:
So, how much was paid for each lot? Well, let's assume that a single family home lots is worth twice as much as a rowhouse lot --- and that a finished lot (with infrastructure) is worth twice as much as a planned lot. If that were all the case, this new developer essentially paid:
If you refer back to the amount of debt that was foreclosed on ($20M) and compare that to the new purchase price ($2M) we can assume that the previous developer's lot basis was 10 times higher ($100K for single family home lots, etc). Stay tuned! UPDATE: After further review of the deed transferring the property from Wells Fargo, I am now noticing that the new developer has agreed to pay a "Subsequent Fee" to Wells Fargo of 2% of the gross sales price of any of their newly acquired properties (building lots or lots where they have built homes) when it closes. This only applies to transfers within the first five years. | |
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Preston Lake Acquired By Neighboring Property Owner (Development Company from Maryland) |
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![]() According to a letter from Brian D. Goldstein, Vice President if Development for NAI The Michael Companies, the residential property at Preston Lake has been sold by Wells Fargo to a new entity known as MLK Preston Lake, LLC. A letter, excerpted below, was sent to current Preston Lake homeowners yesterday.... It is with great pleasure that I am writing this letter on behalf of MLK Preston Lake, LLC, the new owner of the Preston Lake Residential property. Being already invested in and committed to the success and vitality of the area through ownership of a portion of the adjacent commercial property, we look forward to reinvigorating the Preston Lake Residential development with this acquisition. We are confident that the existing homeowners in the neighborhood, Rockingham County officials, and the entire surrounding community will be very pleased with the quality and expertise that we will bring to Preston Lake.This excerpt from their web site speaks to the development background of the NAI Michael Companies, based in Lanham, MD.... Kenneth H. Michael, founder and Chairman of the Board of NAI Michael, created a Development Consulting Division to assist landowners and developers through the then increasingly complicated permit approval process. Over the years, as the approval process has become even more complex, time consuming, and technically demanding, NAI Michael's Development Consulting Division continues to stay abreast of the changes and requirements associated with the development process.The Michael Companies also seems to be amidst the development of a $900 million, 382-acre, upscale mixed-use community in Prince George's County. While The Michael Companies might be an out of town (out of state!) development company, they are no stranger to the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County area -- nor the general vicinity of Preston Lake. Over the past several years they have purchased a variety properties surrounding Preston Lake including (but not limited to) those outlined on the map at the top of this post. For a bit more context (and history) of Preston Lake, consider reading....
And, if you're excited about the reinvigoration of Preston Lake, you might want to buy my parents' house in Preston Lake.... | |
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New Construction Is (Slowly) Making A Recovery |
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![]() The graph above shows the number of new single family homes sold per year in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, per the HRAR MLS. We saw a 78% decline in these new construction single family home sales between 2005 (186 sales) and 2010 (41 sales). During the past two years, however, we have gradually seen the pace of such sales start to increase again --- with 41 sales in 2010, then 45 sales in 2011, and 48 sales in the first 11 months of this year. The median price per square foot of these homes has also stabilized around $129/$130 per square foot --- after rising as high as $150 per square foot. | |
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Approved 160-Acre Mixed Use Development in Harrisonburg, VA For Sale Priced at $8M |
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![]() This mixed use development located between Country Club Road, Linda Lane and Smithland Road is one of the only large developments left be built out in Harrisonburg. This project was approved several years ago, but development of the project never began. As approved by the City, The Quarry would include commercial space, single family homes, townhomes, apartments and condominiums. ![]() Click the Site Plan above for a larger version. This property is listed by Tim Reamer of Cottonwood Commercial. | |
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Not interested in granite or corian? How about volcanic rock? |
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More residential development on Port Republic Road |
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![]() There is a lot planned for Port Republic Road --- likely related to the relocation of Rockingham Memorial Hospital, and the widening of Port Republic Road. We recently talked about the following new developments coming on Port Republic Road....
And now, I'm finding more details online about the residential development to take place at Stone Port. Here are details of the residential development at Stone Port, from their web site....
All of the above (Aspen Heights, Stone Spring Courtyard, The Reserve at Stone Port) are all indications of a recovering, growing local economy. | |
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A glimpse into a rezoning request, via Aspen Heights |
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![]() Aspen Heights is a planned college student housing community on Port Republic Road. Or, as described by the Aspen Heights marketing team.... A neighborhood of craftsman homes with all the convenience and amenities of a luxury multi-family dwelling complex. ![]() To its credit, this does seem to be a notably different type of community compared to most other college housing complexes in Harrisonburg. That said, it is being built amidst (adjacent to) several existing single family home neighborhoods (Ashly Meadows, Stone Spring Village) and those homeowners have a vested interest in it being a well-planned community. This PDF (from the Rockingham County Planning Commission's April 2012 meeting) gives some insight into the Rockingham County rezoning process, showing some very detailed information including:
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New hospital, road infrasture lead to new developments along Port Republic Road |
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![]() Click on the map above to view a larger version. In the past several years we have seen quite a few changes on Port Republic Road on the map shown above, including:
All of this new road infrastructure, plus the new hospital, plus a clustering of residential developments over the past 15-20 years has lead to quite a few new projects labeled on the map above.
Given the new hospital, the new road infrastructure, and the large area of existing housing, it is not surprise that we are seeing these new developments along Port Republic Road. Stoneport is the largest of the new projects, and it will certainly be interesting to see what businesses are established in that location. | |
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Both builders and buyers now prefer custom homes over spec homes |
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These definitions do not describe all possible situations, but they will give you a general idea of the two ways to go about buying/building a new home.... CUSTOM HOME: A home designed jointly by builder and buyer, which is then built to the buyer's specifications. SPEC HOME: A home designed by a builder, and built speculatively by the builder, who then works to find a buyer for the completed home. Back in the height of the housing market (a.k.a. housing boom)....
Now, after the market has cooled off quite a bit (a.k.a. housing bust?)....
Thankfully, these desires actually coincide. There were lots of spec builds in the height of the market, and lots of buyers to buy them. There are very few spec builds now, and very few buyers to buy them. Given the givens, here is some guidance for today's market.... Builders --- if you're going to build speculatively, put a good deal of thought into the floor plan and make sure it is going to be an attractive layout for a wide spectrum of buyers. Also, consider finishing the house through the drywall stage and then marketing it to find a buyer that can make their own selections for interior finishes. Buyers --- talk to your lender early to know what will be possible for you. Buying a lot, obtaining construction financing, and building a custom home is quite a different financial transaction than buying a finished home with a traditional mortgage. | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
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Commonwealth of Virginia
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