Residential developers choose county land

by Eric Olson

SBJ Reporter

eolson@sbj.net

Vacant land in Springfield is scarce for creators of large residential subdivisions. But lack of city real estate is not slowing progress of new homes.

Residential developers are shifting their sites to adjacent Greene County property, where developable land is abundant. Six new residential developments on the horizon totaling nearly 600 acres are on the outskirts of Springfield.

Dave Poppenga of Poppenga's Concrete, a partner in three of the developments, said subdivision developers have no choice but to look outside city limits.

"Land is getting harder and harder to find around Springfield," Poppenga said. "You've got to get out a little bit farther now."

As developers grab for land, Greene County planners are recording new highs in permits and subdivision plats. According to Kent Morris, Greene County director of planning, developers platted a record 58 subdivisions in 2002.

In 2003, 51 subdivisions were platted, but there were 1,254 single-family dwelling building permits filed in the county the highest number ever filed.

"Most of the residential growth is occurring outside of the city limits of Springfield," said Morris, pointing to stats in his office.

Historical records say one thing, but Morris prefers to compare his numbers to other area development for greater impact. For instance, Greene County issued 1,254 single-family dwelling permits for unincorporated land last year, compared to 394 permits issued in Springfield. Furthermore, those 1,254 Greene County permits outnumber the combined total from Ash Grove, Battlefield, Fair Grove, Nixa, Ozark, Republic, Rogersville, Springfield, Strafford and Walnut Grove last year. Those communities totaled 1,252 single-family dwelling permits in 2003, according to Greene County's building regulations department.

"Those numbers are very telling," Morris said. "There are a lot of things happening outside the city limits of Springfield."

Padding prices

Developers say such demand and scarcity of city property have padded land values in the county.

"Prices of land have gone up dramatically," Poppenga said, citing an approximate 8 percent to 10 percent increase this year on parcels he has been eyeing for development. "That's what it seems like it's doing right now."

Poppenga recently acquired 250 acres in west Springfield, at farm roads 115 and 146, from Dr. Peter H'Doubler for $2.5 million.

According to real estate broker John Hopkins of J. Hopkins & Associates, prices for vacant land vary greatly in the county, from as low as $1,000 an acre in the northwest quadrant to $40,000 an acre adjacent to Springfield. The key is having access to utilities, he said.

"The scarcity of land that you can develop is because of the lack of utilities to it, mostly sewer," Hopkins said.

While City Utilities has an urban service agreement with the county to extend sewer lines outside city limits without annexation, it is done at the developers' expense. "If (utilities are) far away, it is cost prohibitive to extend very far," Hopkins added.

As a result, land closer to utilities is becoming more costly. "There definitely is some inflation going on in vacant land," Hopkins said. "It's harder and harder to find, I'll tell you that. I've been doing this for 25 years, and I kind of cut my teeth on selling pieces real close to Springfield."

Stu Stenger, developer with Ron Stenger Companies, has noticed the rise in prices, too. Especially south of Springfield, where Stenger Companies is developing Lion's Gate, a 320-lot, 160-acre community off of South Campbell. Stenger would neither disclose the land's purchase price nor the development's value, but said home prices are reflective of land values.

"As you can see on the south side of town, the land prices are higher, but yet the builders build bigger houses," Stenger said.

Lion's Gate will have homes from $200,000 to $600,000.

Stenger said his firm could no longer develop within Springfield. "For the type of development that we like to do, there is just not enough acreage left inside the city limits," he said. "Land is getting more scarce."

Stenger Companies has even looked to other municipalities for development opportunities.

"We own a big tract of land in Ozark, and we intend to develop it someday," Stenger said. The land, 400 acres in south Ozark, is near the Wal-Mart Supercenter under construction at U.S. Highway 65 and Christian County Highway F.

On tap

First on tap for Poppenga, who also is a partner in Olde Ivy, is the 34-lot Golden Meadows located in a pocket of Greene County property southwest of Springfield.

Home construction is expected to begin April 1, said Kim Buche, Golden Meadows project manager. A one-year, $3.5 million build-out is planned. Homes will range from single-story 1,500-square-foot homes to 3,400 square feet for walkout basement homes.

Poppenga's largest development is Vintage Hills, the first of three planned phases on the recently acquired 250 acres west of Springfield off Grand. Additional phases will have different names and gates are planned for each, Poppenga said.

Stenger said his company's plate is full with Lion's Gate, the nearby 69-lot Lennox Place, and Bent Tree, a 110-acre starter-home community near Poppenga's Vintage Hills. Homes at Bent Tree will sell between $90,000 and $120,000, Stenger said, and there will be an amenities package of a pool, and tennis and basketball courts.

These developers say it won't be long before their latest subdivisions are annexed, based on city of Springfield trends.

"Eventually, these subdivisions that we do get annexed into the city," Stenger said. "So the city keeps getting wider and you keep going farther and farther out."

He remembers when Stenger Companies' subdivisions Quail Creek, Iron Bridge and National Place were considered "out in the county." They have since been annexed, and Stenger presumes Lion's Gate and Bent Tree "will be in there before we know it."