Work on homes and links continues

BROOKSVILLE -- By fall, you should be able to buy a house or play a round of golf in Hernando Oaks, the county's first large residential development in a decade, developers say.

The fairways are all cleared and the holes are being dug for the community's golf course, which will be the development's centerpiece, said Ronald Dunston, Hernando Oaks' project manager.

Infrastructure for most of the development's streets is in place and the roads should soon follow. Construction of model homes by four builders is expected to start in April.

Four builders have committed to the 197 lots in the first of seven phases planned for the 975-home development. Palmwood Builders, Alexander Custom Homes, Windjammer Homebuilders and Royal Coachman Homes all plan to build at least two models each, said Dunston.

Home prices will start at $130,000 and climb to about $700,000.

"There won't be too many of the $130,000," Dunston said.

The community, at the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Powell Road, has some elements of a neotraditional community. Two town centers of 50 acres with 200,000 square feet of space between them are planned along U.S. 41, close enough for residents to ride bicycles or golf carts, or walk.

But the community itself will sit behind gates. And Dunston expects the home styles to be similar to those found in nearby developments, more modern than traditional.

Hernando Oaks was approved by Hernando County in 1999, but it has been slow to develop. Dunston blamed that on complying with government regulation.

Still, he thinks the timing has turned out well. Interest rates remain low. Hernando has almost run out of vacant lots in planned communities such as Silverthorn, and the Suncoast Parkway should bring demand for more.

Plus, Hernando Oaks will have a jump on the county's nearby big development, a 799-home golf course community called Hampton Ridge that Jacksonville developer LandMar Group LLC plans to build across U.S. 41 from Hernando Oaks.

That development is probably three years away from being ready, said Dunston.

"To tell you the truth, I am anxious to see them get started over there," he said. "I think that will help us. You have to drive past us to get to them. We are just lucky."

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