With four residential development projects in the works, the housing market is making a comeback in St. Charles Parish.
“We’re certainly seeing a lot more subdivision development,” said Earl Matherne, parish planning administrator.
The latest proposed project, Destrehan Plantation Estates in Destrehan, is coming before the parish’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 2, Matherne said. The preliminary plat calls for 30 lots behind the St. Charles Parish East Library.
Murray Architects is designing the project, which is owned by P&L Investments, a Washington, D.C. company that sold eight acres of land adjoining Destrehan Plantation to the River Road Historical Society in October.
Wendy Benedetto, parish councilwoman and Realtor, welcomed news of the latest proposed development as being needed in Destrehan.
“I’m ecstatic over the new development on the East Bank of St. Charles Parish,” Benedetto said. “If this development is priced right and given the right opportunities, it’s exactly what we need. We do have a handful of lots in Ormond by owners, but they’re asking more than $100,000 per lot.”Benedetto said the area’s residential growth is up parishwide.
“It’s a very healthy market for new construction,” she said. “Our inventory is very low right now.”
Matherne said lots that lingered unsold for years by developers or individual owners are finally selling or sold, prompting development of more lots.
Last year’s Ashton Oaks Subdivision in Luling got attention when Joel Chaisson, owner of JCJR Enterprises and the parish’s district attorney, initiated the 66-lot development in Luling next to Ashton Plantation.
P&Z Director Michael Albert said it was the first major subdivision proposed in eight years in the parish since the nation’s housing bubble burst.
Chaisson said lots that lingered on the market were suddenly bought up by homebuilders, and they were asking for more of them.
Matherne also observed a market turnaround by mid-2016.“It has been a good eight years since we had a major new subdivision with Ashton Oaks, which kind of got things rolling,” he said. “We’re starting to see that and have other people talking about it. It was certainly a dry spell.”
“It was part of the national housing slump,” he said. “We did have quite a number of lots on the books ready to go when the slump hit. Instead of taking two years to absorb them, it took eight.”
Since Ashton Oaks was announced, which is under construction, demand has continued to grow for residential lots.
P&Z is considering the following River Road Estates’s preliminary plat calling for 110 lots to be done phases in Hahnville.
Also under consideration is Ashton Plantation’s Phase IIa with 30 lots in Luling, and now Destrehan Plantation Estates with 30 lots planned in Destrehan.
“We see things coming back,” said Greg Leir, a partner with Rathborne Properties “We’ve seen a lot of construction. I think you’re seeing a need for vacant lots.”
Rathborne Properties is developing 41 lots or a portion of the second phase of Ashton Plantation Estates, which is its first move to complete it since starting the project 10 years ago.
Leir said they plan to bid out the project in April and start construction of the second phase in anticipation of selling the lots for housing. They should be available for sale by late this year or early next year.
“In the last two to three years, we’ve seen a significant uptick in housing construction and that got us thinking it’s time to start another phase,” Leir said. “By mid-2016, we decided to get serious about Phase II.”
After a recession lingered from the nation’s burst housing bubble, Rathborne is easing into the second phase, although the entire phase calls for 156 lots. Leir anticipates the second phase will be done in two or three rounds depending on sales.
“It’s actually pretty exciting,” Leir said of resuming work on Ashton Plantation Estates. “I like building things so being able to build another one of these to meet the needs for more housing is fun, exciting and we’re looking forward to it.”
Leir said they want to complete the innovative project they envisioned and initiated.
“Way back in 1997, we looked at it as a master plan community so we spent a lot of time and money on the plan,” he said. “We really made an effort so it would be a special place in St. Charles Parish to make it where people would want to live.”
The development includes numerous recreational features, Leir said. Three restrictive covenants and a on-staff architect control the type houses that can be built there to protect the community and property values. Landscaping also is controlled by restrictions to promote consistency in the community.
“We spent almost $1 million in planning before we turned the first shovel of dirt,” Leir added.
Ashton Plantation Estates was planned for 1,000 lots total. Work started in 1997 based on strong market indicators, such as having a 1,000-name waiting list for one lot, Leir said.But about 300 lots and probably 200 houses into the project, the nation’s housing bubble burst.
“That list vaporized quickly,” Leir said of anticipated buyers. “It was a really bad time, but luckily me and my partners had the wherewithal to keep Plantation Estates maintained because it was a slow time for residential development.
“We certainly thought we’d absorb it a lot faster than we have. No one expected a 10-year recession.”
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