Builders begin new subdivision

Enchanted Woodlands, located just east of the intersection of Catalpa Street and Barnes Avenue in Springfield, will feature homes ranging in price from $149,900 to $199,900, according to Dan Johnson of Murney Associates.

“The basic model has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two-car garage (and is) mostly brick,” Johnson said. “It’s a cute little cottage-like French country design.”

The development will include eight different floor plans, ranging in size from 1,500 to 2,700 square feet. Ten of the homes are under construction – five are framed, with one just weeks from completion.

Johnson said the development will be built in phases – once those initial four homes are complete, the focus will shift to the other six lots that have been prepared, with preparation work beginning on others.

The homes are either all brick or majority brick construction, something Johnson said isn’t available in most homes in Springfield.

“You can’t find an all-brick or mostly brick home within the city limits anymore,” he said. “The all-brick homes are either above $200,000 or they’re on the outskirts because of the high cost of land in the city.”

Company partner Patrick O’Reilly said the future inhabitants of the new development will be varied.

“We’re targeting people who want quality brick homes with nicer architecture than your average starter home,” he said. “That also attracts empty nesters and older adult couples who want to downsize a little but still have the good location.”

The subdivision was originally a development of O’Reilly and another business partner, Mike Dobbs. O’Reilly said he and partner Matt Miller felt it would be a good project for their firm.

“We bought all the lots from my partnership with Mike Dobbs. The idea was that it was a great location and the lots came at a reasonable price,” O’Reilly said.

“There’s not much else available in the price range that we’re offering, especially for a brick home – we think it’s a market that’s being underserved.”

Enchanted Woodlands is not the only development in which Miller-O’Reilly has built homes, but it’s the first development the firm has owned. The company has built duplexes and patio homes in Shyanne Estates, as well as new homes in The Villages at Wicklow in Nixa.

Miller-O’Reilly will build all of the homes in Enchanted Woodlands, and Johnson will act as the listing agent for the development. Miller declined to discuss the total investment in the property.

O’Reilly said the company also is in the planning stages of a new town home development and a possible independent living facility, though details on those developments have not been finalized.

Enchanted Woodlands’ name comes from the wooded areas that surround the development; Johnson said the developers tried to leave as much of the natural growth in place as possible.

“The area also will feature a walking trail cut through the natural growth trees already on the property,” he said. “They’re keeping the mature trees – so many developers go in and just bulldoze the trees down, but they’re trying to keep as many as possible.”

The developers hope to have five homes done before the end of December, in time for a January open house event. The entire development should be complete in 18 to 24 months.

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