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By Sarah Jeffords – Business First Staff Writer
Sep 10, 2007, 12:00am EDT Updated Sep 6, 2007, 3:04pm EDT
After three-plus years in the planning stages, there are visible signs of progress on the Signature Point residential community.
Roads are in. Landscaping is in bloom, and the first 20 townhomes are under way.
Three of those units will be models so prospective buyers can see different floor plans and finishes, said Wendy Hargrove, condominium developer for Hagan Properties Inc.
The Louisville real estate firm is developing the 90-acre site, located on South English Station Road behind Christian Academy’s English Station campus, just east of the Gene Snyder Freeway.
Plans call for Signature Point to have 500 units, ranging in price from $370,000 to $488,000. At least 200 of those units will be townhomes, also known as brownstones, with two, two-and-a-half or three levels.
Manor homes, which will be divided into four, one-level condominiums, are a second type of home that Hagan Properties will build at Signature Point. Construction of manor homes will start in October.
The developer has proposed a third residential option that would be a four-story structure with a garage on the first floor and three upper levels of condos.
Referred to as a butterfly building because of the design, it would have two units per floor and a central bank of elevators.
The concept needs design approvals from the Louisville Metro Planning Commission’s Land Development and Transportation Committee, Hargrove said.
Estimated completion date is 2016
Hagan Properties plans to invest $250 million in the community by the time the project is wrapped up in 2016.
The firm is spending about $78 million on the first 200 brownstones, Hargrove said. The project is being financed by PBI Bank.
Before making an investment of that size, Hagan Properties visited several communities, including Boston and Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown district, to get a sense of those traditional neighborhoods. Closer to home, St. James Court was considered a model.
Then, with the help of Winter Park, Fla.-based Fugleberg Koch Architects, Hagan officials incorporated those concepts into their own traditional neighborhood development.
Amenities help foster sense of community
The end result is architecture reminiscent of the Federalist and Georgian styles, a network of sidewalks and common spaces designed to foster interaction among residents, and resort-style amenities, Hargrove said.
In particular, Signature Point will have a 5,700-square-foot clubhouse, named Magnolia Hall, that is under construction.
There also will be an outdoor pool, a hot tub, and two separate buildings — housing a fitness center and a children’s activity center — that each will be 1,000 square feet.
A park with a fenced-in puppy playground, a gazebo with a butterfly garden and a small amphitheater where concerts and events will be held also are part of the development.
As Signature Point grows, Hargove said, a concierge will be hired to coordinate dry cleaning service, on-site farmers’ markets, gourmet cooking classes, wine-and-cheese parties, children’s activities and other events.
Several open house events planned
The lifestyle that Signature Point offers has caught the attention of more than 100 potential buyers who have expressed an interest in the brownstone units.
No units have been sold — developers were waiting to sign contracts until the Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District gave final sewer approvals, which happened last week.
But Hagan officials plan to host an open house this month for prospective residents, and a series of open-house events is planned for area Realtors.