Proposed single-family development to place nature first
July 21, 2012By J. Elias O'Neal
Wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and thick boots, Wilmington-based Penton Development’s owner and namesake Howard A. Penton III, wasted no time during a humid July afternoon to showcase his plans for Wilmington’s newest single-family development – Shinnwood West.
“We’re really taking into account everything,” Penton said while tromping through the heavy forested property in the eastern New Hanover County. “The selling point will be the home prices and the property’s natural beauty.”
Named after Shinnwood Beach, an area farther along East Shinnwood Road where his sprawling family’s estate was a prominent mainstay in the 1930s and 1940s along sandy white shores, Penton is hoping to capitalize on the area’s location and housing recovery.
As the region continues to recover from bank-owned properties, foreclosures and short sales, developers like Penton are beginning to take advantage of New Hanover County’s need for new singe-family lots.
Located on 45 acres near the intersection of Greenville Loop and Shinnwood roads, the land is slated for 1,800-2,000 square foot homes on 94 lots.
The development also sits at the crossroad of the city, being minutes from Wrightsville Beach and Mayfaire.
Once given the green light from city officials and securing the necessary permits, Penton and business partner Will Leonard, a broker with Wilmington-based Cape Fear Commercial, hopes to begin construction on the site by the fourth quarter.
Penton said the goal is to have the first family move into phase one of Shinnwood West by August 2013.
“This is a beautiful piece of property, with lots of beautiful trees,” Penton said. “It’s also one of the few, larger land parcels left in Wilmington, so we want the development to retain its value for years to come.”
Once plated for larger lots for $500,000 homes and up with a former developer, new plans call for the single-family neighborhood to be revived as a cluster housing development – meaning that enclaves of homes will cluster in particular pockets of the development.
Penton said the cluster development format will give his firm more space to preserve nearly 10 acres of wetland space and many mature, 12-foot trees on the site that include magnolias, oaks and maples.
All of the homes, which are priced to sell from the $200,000-$250,000 range, would resemble the low country architecture found in Savannah and Charleston, with master suite bedrooms downstairs and screened-in porches.
Development plans also call for the construction of about 25 “crofter units,” which calls for the home to be constructed onto pilings providing parking below.
“We feel that the crofter units are going to be a big seller with younger buyers,” Penton said.
Suzanne O’Bryant, sales and marketing developer for Penton Development, said the development will offer additional buyer options, such as attached and detached garages and elevators for the
crofter units.
Other amenities include a pool and clubhouse, a community garden, various pocket parks, a 1.5-acre dog park, gazebos and a community oyster roast and fire pit.
Penton said the region is entering into the economic recovery mode, and now is the time to more forward with Shinnwood West.
“We think we can be highly competitive with a high quality product in this price range,” he said. “It’s going to be a beautiful project, and I’m very excited about it.”
