COLIN CAMPBELL - ccampbell@newsobserver.com
Holt Lake West Subdivision in Four Oaks had only two homes when construction stalled. The new developer plans to restart the project as a gated community of homes in the range of $200,000 to $400,000.
FOUR OAKS -- In a sign that the ailing real-estate market might be turning the corner in Johnston County, a failed subdivision is getting a new lease on life.
Chanlu Investments LLC, a development firm owned by Cary businessman Jack Carlisle, has taken over Holt Lake West Subdivision off Thunder Road. In 2009, developer TWM Properties LLC built two houses before the project fell victim to the recession. Along the empty streets, dozens of other lots are overgrown with weeds.
By the end of the year, Carlisle hopes to change that. He envisions a gated community with amenities such as walking trails and a swimming pool. And Carlisle wants to build bigger houses, with prices in the $200,000 to $400,000 range instead of the $170,000 advertised by his predecessor.
Carlisle said the new Four Oaks Business Park would bring in executives looking for higher-end, lakeside homes. "It'll be an upscale subdivision," he said. "It will go hand in hand with the new industrial park."
Becton Dickinson, a medical-device maker, is building a sprawling distribution center as the park's first tenant, and Four Oaks leaders say the town is courting other companies.
Last week, Carlisle got approval from the Four Oaks Board of Commissioners for the swimming pool. Home construction should begin in the coming months, he added.
Most of the streets and utility lines are already in place, though Carlisle will have to run electricity to lots closest to Holt Lake. Those will likely be bigger lots with bigger houses, Carlisle said. If he can get permission from lake owners, he plans to build a boat ramp to add to recreation options.
A connector street to neighboring homes along Pumping Station Road will be closed soon, Carlisle said.
Though home sales are still slow throughout the Triangle, Carlisle said he's optimistic about Holt Lake West. "I think this is a good time," he said. "I feel like the market is slowly turning around, especially in the Four Oaks area."
Four Oaks Mayor Linwood Parker said he expects the new homes to have a big effect on the town's tax base. And he thinks Holt Lake West is just the first of many new neighborhoods that will sprout om Four Oaks. "I think we'll have both high-end and more moderate-income subdivisions come in," he said.
