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Home-building slump inevident at Spirit of Brandtjen Farm
Joseph Palmersheim-Sun Newspapers
When local realtor Mandy McKenzie began to look for a new house, building one was the last thing on her mind-until she visted Spirit of Brandtjen Farm in Lakeville.
"When we were there, we realized that we wanted a certain kind of house, in a certain kind of community," she said. "It's a fun (place)-people are friendly, everyone is outside all of the time. It was a good feel."
Now, nearly a year later Mandy and her husband are the proud owners of one of 16 new cottage-style homes being built in the planned community developed on 580 acres of farmland near the Apple Valley border. Two of the unbuilt cottages have already been sold.
Lynne Jensen-Nelson, the vice president of sales and marketing with Homes by Tradition, the site's developer, described the cottages as " a new price point for the neighborhood," starting at around $300,000. Interest, she said, has been high.
"We haven't even built a model yet, and we've already sold two," she said."We're filling a niche, and it's a good product line that's compatible with the high-end custom homes we have here."
The three- and four-bedroom homes, which will retail between $300,000-$400,000, are still custom-designed with input from the future owner. The main difference between the larger homes in the development and the new ones is the square footage. The new houses have a smaller footprint, made possible with "informal" family room spaces and
e-offices, which are smaller than a typical home office.
"You don't need the big docking station and keyboard-now, everyone has laptops, so you've got all this workspace where you can close the door and do what you need to do, and not take space away from the kitchen," Jensen-Nelson said. "It's a nice, efficient way to lay out the home. The price point really opens the doors (to customers)."
The model for the new homes is under construction, and Jensen-Nelson estimated that it would be done by spring.
Developers must submit preliminary and final plans outlining their intentions. Before any construction begins, the city must approve a final version for the plans, which are referred to as "plats". Once a preliminary plat has been filed, it can be extended over time to be built at a later date. The new Brandtjen cottages (and four other elsewhere on the site) are the only projects to make it to the final platting stage in Lakeville in 2009.
"Given that we're into September now, these could be the only final plats we approve in 2009," said Daryl Morey, Lakeville's planning director. "A total of 16 family lots for the year is way down, even compared to last year's numbers."
Community and Economic Development Director David Olson said that Lakeville has approved 77 preliminary plats for single-family homes this year. In comparison, 94 preliminary plats were issued in 2008, with 67 making it to the final plat (being built).
"Our estimate was for 100 single family homes for this year," Olson said. "It's likely we'll hit that 100 number, but it's historically low."
As recently as 2005, nearly 450 single-family lots made it to the final plat. Since then, the numbers have been decreasing every year. Historically, residential development has been up and down, with Morey recalling that developers in the early 1990s faced a moratorium on residential development in Lakeville.
"There are a lot of preliminary plats that were approved a few years ago that have sought extensions," Morey said. "They just haven't come in for final approval yet because of the economy."
So what makes Spirit of Brandtjen Farm different?
"In my opinion , (Homes by Tradition) has a lot of infrastructure (in the Spirit development)," Morey said. "What they've tried to do is find a niche and price point in the market that prospective buyers would be interested in. They've worked really hard at trying to generate interest in their overall development."
"We've never offered a better product line," Jensen-Nelson said. "We are hitting all of the price points. I worked through the boom time, and I think that people who are buying right now are getting the best possible value for their money. We're a four-generation company. We've been here, we've been through it, and I think people are looking for that right now."
As for McKenzie and her husband they are in a town home until their new house is built. The three-step design process focuses on exterior, interior, and tying it all together, she explained.
"The plans are done," McKenzie said. "I know it will be a classic look-deep brown with ivory accents. We're getting there, and I think it will be gorgeous. I can't wait to move in."