Several new developments break the Wildwood mold
A different type of housing is cropping up in Wildwood, a city best known for houses on three-acre lots.
Sales have been brisk at Windsor Crest, a development of single-family houses at highways 100 and 109, said John Eilermann, chief executive of McBride & Son Homes.
"It's been very, very successful," he said. "We have 77 homes, and we expect to be closed out in less than two years" of starting the project.
Eilermann estimates work will be completed on the final units "in a few months."
Windsor Crest has been so successful that McBride plans a similar development nearby, the Towns at Windrush, on Old Manchester Road just east of Highway 109, Eilermann said. That project will include 24 houses in the same style as Windsor Crest "but a little larger," he said. Sales will start at the end of November. "We're just finishing the infrastructure, but we've had a lot of phone calls and a lot of interest," he said.
At Windsor Crest, the subdivision has one- and two-story houses in eight different floor plans with three and four bedrooms. One big draw is the development's configuration: front porches, garages in the rear and alleys.
"The architectural style stems from the 1920s and the 1930s," Eilermann said. "People like the neo-traditional style of homes from those decades. We really felt that would fit within what the city of Wildwood was trying to do in their master plan with their whole Town Center concept."
The approach, a "pedestrian-friendly community," is different than a traditional suburban subdivision, he said. Proximity to shopping, Babler State Park and Rockwoods Reservation also were appealing to buyers, Eilermann said.
The average price was "well over $300,000," Eilermann said.
Sales also have been brisk at the Meadows at Wildwood, villas designed for people age 55 and older.
Developer Mike McNearney said eight of the 52 villas have been sold, even though the roads are just being completed. Now, with the infrastructure in place, he anticipates the villas selling out within a year to 18 months.
The development is on Highway 109, a mile south of Highway 100. It's near the new YMCA, and a membership at the health facility is included in the villas' monthly dues.
The houses have two bedrooms and two baths on the first floor. The $369,000 price includes amenities that would be options in most developments, McNearney said: a fireplace, screened porch, nine-foot-high ceilings, crown molding, granite countertops, hardwood floors and more.
"People like the villa-type ownership, because they're not dependent upon a condominium association to fix the roof or to maintain the streets or any of those things that happen in condominium associations," he said. "We have a management company that we also own that does all the management of the exterior of the units, the maintenance, the road repairs, all that sort of thing."
In about a year, McNearney plans to begin construction of 60 to 65 condominiums, including 10 temporary assisted-living studio apartments on the site.
"Any of our residents who are recuperating from surgery or need some nursing care can rent an assisted-living apartment, where we'll have 24/7 nursing, meal service and all that for them on a short-term basis," he said.
Sales have been a bit slower at Cambury Townhomes, a block south of Highway 100 and accessed from Highway 109. Dan Barnard, president of Greater Missouri Builders, the developer, blamed a lack of other development so far.
"When the neighborhood is fully built up, it's really going to be very trendy, very cute and very traditional and people are really going to like what they see," he said.
About 30 units of the 91 lots available have been built, he said.
"It's beginning to pick up now that we've got 30 units, but it was a struggle in the beginning," he said, adding, "It's just such a good place to live and such a nice location that it's going to flesh out."
Joe Vujnich, Wildwood's planning director, also thinks interest in Cambury will pick up as the Town Center takes shape, just to the east.
"I think the day that the street connection from the commercial end of Town Center reaches that development, there will be renewed interest when people can actually walk from Cambury and access Starbucks, Coldstone Creamery, the Walgreens, Dierbergs, the Applebee's, whatever it may be," he said.
The company has been "tinkering with the floor plans," Barnard said. One thing the company learned is buyers prefer master bedrooms on the first floor, he said.
The two-story townhouses have up to three bedrooms and are in buildings of two, three and four units. Prices average $250,000 to $260,000, Barnard said.
Townhouses are more often found in urban settings, where vacant land is in short supply, than in an environment like West County, Barnard said. However, they fit in well with what's being developed in Wildwood, he said.
"We agreed to build this style of home, because the city really wants the Town Center concept to be successful," he said.
Greater Missouri Builders also is planning another development, the 36-unit, villa-style Grover Crossing nearby in about 10 months, Barnard said.
By Kathie Sutin
SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
11/25/2005
Sales have been brisk at Windsor Crest, a development of single-family houses at highways 100 and 109, said John Eilermann, chief executive of McBride & Son Homes.
"It's been very, very successful," he said. "We have 77 homes, and we expect to be closed out in less than two years" of starting the project.
Eilermann estimates work will be completed on the final units "in a few months."
Windsor Crest has been so successful that McBride plans a similar development nearby, the Towns at Windrush, on Old Manchester Road just east of Highway 109, Eilermann said. That project will include 24 houses in the same style as Windsor Crest "but a little larger," he said. Sales will start at the end of November. "We're just finishing the infrastructure, but we've had a lot of phone calls and a lot of interest," he said.
At Windsor Crest, the subdivision has one- and two-story houses in eight different floor plans with three and four bedrooms. One big draw is the development's configuration: front porches, garages in the rear and alleys.
"The architectural style stems from the 1920s and the 1930s," Eilermann said. "People like the neo-traditional style of homes from those decades. We really felt that would fit within what the city of Wildwood was trying to do in their master plan with their whole Town Center concept."
The approach, a "pedestrian-friendly community," is different than a traditional suburban subdivision, he said. Proximity to shopping, Babler State Park and Rockwoods Reservation also were appealing to buyers, Eilermann said.
The average price was "well over $300,000," Eilermann said.
Sales also have been brisk at the Meadows at Wildwood, villas designed for people age 55 and older.
Developer Mike McNearney said eight of the 52 villas have been sold, even though the roads are just being completed. Now, with the infrastructure in place, he anticipates the villas selling out within a year to 18 months.
The development is on Highway 109, a mile south of Highway 100. It's near the new YMCA, and a membership at the health facility is included in the villas' monthly dues.
The houses have two bedrooms and two baths on the first floor. The $369,000 price includes amenities that would be options in most developments, McNearney said: a fireplace, screened porch, nine-foot-high ceilings, crown molding, granite countertops, hardwood floors and more.
"People like the villa-type ownership, because they're not dependent upon a condominium association to fix the roof or to maintain the streets or any of those things that happen in condominium associations," he said. "We have a management company that we also own that does all the management of the exterior of the units, the maintenance, the road repairs, all that sort of thing."
In about a year, McNearney plans to begin construction of 60 to 65 condominiums, including 10 temporary assisted-living studio apartments on the site.
"Any of our residents who are recuperating from surgery or need some nursing care can rent an assisted-living apartment, where we'll have 24/7 nursing, meal service and all that for them on a short-term basis," he said.
Sales have been a bit slower at Cambury Townhomes, a block south of Highway 100 and accessed from Highway 109. Dan Barnard, president of Greater Missouri Builders, the developer, blamed a lack of other development so far.
"When the neighborhood is fully built up, it's really going to be very trendy, very cute and very traditional and people are really going to like what they see," he said.
About 30 units of the 91 lots available have been built, he said.
"It's beginning to pick up now that we've got 30 units, but it was a struggle in the beginning," he said, adding, "It's just such a good place to live and such a nice location that it's going to flesh out."
Joe Vujnich, Wildwood's planning director, also thinks interest in Cambury will pick up as the Town Center takes shape, just to the east.
"I think the day that the street connection from the commercial end of Town Center reaches that development, there will be renewed interest when people can actually walk from Cambury and access Starbucks, Coldstone Creamery, the Walgreens, Dierbergs, the Applebee's, whatever it may be," he said.
The company has been "tinkering with the floor plans," Barnard said. One thing the company learned is buyers prefer master bedrooms on the first floor, he said.
The two-story townhouses have up to three bedrooms and are in buildings of two, three and four units. Prices average $250,000 to $260,000, Barnard said.
Townhouses are more often found in urban settings, where vacant land is in short supply, than in an environment like West County, Barnard said. However, they fit in well with what's being developed in Wildwood, he said.
"We agreed to build this style of home, because the city really wants the Town Center concept to be successful," he said.
Greater Missouri Builders also is planning another development, the 36-unit, villa-style Grover Crossing nearby in about 10 months, Barnard said.
By Kathie Sutin
SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
11/25/2005
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