News

Building Lost Rabbit

May 5, 2006
The Clarion-Ledger
By Sylvain Metz
smetz@clarionledger.com

Robbie Wilbur was house hunting two years ago when he heard about Lost Rabbit, a new kind of development going up in Madison County along the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

“As a concept, it interests me - the high density, walkable streets, trails, green space and town center. It’s an idea whose time has come,” said Wilbur, who first looked at homes in traditional neighborhoods.

So he bought a home that is expected to be ready in June, making Wilbur, who works as a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality, the first resident of this development.

Lost Rabbit is a 260-acre development at the end of Hoy Road, located along the 33,000-acre Ross Barnett Reservoir. It is a self-contained community, a place to live, work and shop, a place that de-emphasizes automobiles and emphasizes walking.

As Wilbur prepares to move in, construction of another 20-25 homes will get under way within 30 days, said Mark Frascogna, a partner and developer with Neopolis Group, which is developing the $230 million to $250 million project.

In addition to homes, Neopolis now is marketing its first villa condominium called D’Iberville Place.

“It looks a lot like a large villa,” he said

Designed in a French Colonial style, the two-story building with balconies, underground parking and elevators will house six condominiums, ranging in size from 1,863 square feet to 2,705 square feet, Frascogna said.

Prices will range from $570,000 to $770,000, he said.

“This is very expensive construction,” Frascogna said.

The building’s elevation will place it about 30 feet above the reservoir, he said.

Despite the steep asking price, Frascogna said he expects the condos to sell, noting 20 percent of the 3,000 people who made serious inquiries for homes were interested in condominiums and town houses.

Under the agreement with the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District and Madison County, the developer will offer 80 condos.

Some like D’Iberville Place, will have six condos per building while others may have four per building.

Townhouse construction is expected to start in August, in sizes from 1,700 square feet to 2,400 square feet. No prices were available.

There will be 16 townhouses in groups of four, Frascogna said

Phase II of the project gets under way in July, said fellow Neopolis developer and partner Richard Ridgway.

Plans in this phase call for construction of a church and three mixed-use buildings all located near the harbor.

“Lost Rabbit is ahead of our expectations,” Ridgway said.

“Next year, we will deliver the town center,” he said, adding that, by then, infrastructure work around the harbor and town center will be completed with construction to commence thereafter.

The town center should be open by late summer or early fall 2008, Ridgway said.

Built over 10 years, the development will hold up to 800 dwellings.

Lost Rabbit is being designed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. of Miami, which specializes in new urbanism developments. DPZ also is working with Neopolis to develop Flowood Town Center.

Site work on that $325 million project, located near Mississippi 25 and Old Fannin Road behind Dogwood Festival Market, is expected to start in June.

It will include a new City Hall, an elementary school and churches, as well as a myriad of mixed-use buildings that call for commercial businesses on the first floor and residential space above them.