News

For now, first resident enjoying solitude

July 18, 2006
by Lucy Weber lweber@mcherald.com—THE Madison County Herald

For now, Robbie Wilbur’s neighbors are the crickets and frogs that serenade him in the evenings when the sounds of construction work die away.

Wilbur may be the first resident to move into the Town of Lost Rabbit, but he’s never lonely.

A steady stream of sightseers drives slowly through the developing community in the early summer evenings during the week and all day long on weekends. Sometimes visitors, thinking it’s a model home, come up on his porch for a peek in the windows.

Wilbur waves at the cars creeping along the heavily wooded streets that make up the first phase of Lost Rabbit, located at the end of Hoy Road between the Natchez Trace Parkway and the waters of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Sometimes, he invites the folks who wind up on his porch in for a look.

“I’m enjoying the solitude,” said Wilbur, whose Charleston side yard house sits on what is now the southern edge of the build-up. “I’ve got the whole 260 acres to myself. I like being in on the ground floor (of the development).”

But, he won’t be the sole resident for long.

The first phase has 122 lots, and 101 have already been sold, said Mark Frascogna, of Neopolis Development LLC, which is creating a traditional neighborhood development on the 260 acres. Twenty-five houses are under construction or are under architectural review, and Frascogna anticipates another 50 housing starts next year.

“The level of interest and acceptance is better than we thought,” Frascogna said. “I’m delighted with the progress and am happy to see it always improving.”

Wilbur started in November building his house on his 36-foot-wide lot. Seeing Lost Rabbit and the plans Neopolis had for the community with its different types and sizes of houses, a town center, a marina and lots of green space convinced him to build his first house.

“I’m looking forward to having neighbors,” he said. “I’ve started meeting people already. I’ve gotten to meet some of the folks who have got lots around me.”

Quinton Dickerson has not yet started building his family’s house up the block from Wilbur but hopes to begin by late fall, once his plans are finalized. “

I know this development was committed to building something of top quality that will get better with age,” Dickerson said. “I was attracted to the architectural details, the natural beauty of the community. The developer is committed to preserving as much of the natural beauty as they can.”

The sense of community that Lost Rabbit promises also proved to be an incentive to move, Dickerson said. “The traditional neighborhood development is literally designed to promote community. There is so much connectivity. The sidewalks actually go somewhere.”

The traditional neighborhood development also attracted Wilbur. With the sidewalks throughout, “there’s the chance to interact with your neighbors,” he said.

A network of sidewalks will wind throughout Lost Rabbit, and the idea is that neighbors will walk to the town center with its shops and offices, Frascogna said. Nothing in the development, once it’s fully built out in eight to 10 years, should be more than a five- or 10-minute walk from anywhere else, he said.

Work on the second phase of the development, which includes 75 lots, is beginning. The roads leading to the town center and marina should be paved by August, and some house construction in the area could start in September. One of the lots is dedicated to a church, and the developers are in conversation with several congregations about locating there, Frascogna said.

The engineering work on the marina is nearing completion, Frascogna said. There will be five blocks of buildings around the marina, making up town center.

There will be townhouses in that area, along with three mixed-use buildings that will offer commercial establishments on the ground floor and condos above, he said.

Lost Rabbit has generated calls from businesses and retailers “since day one” about locating in the town center, Frascogna said. “We have not seriously pursued any dialogues because we knew we were two to three years out,” he said. “I think in September we’ll begin talks.”

But, don’t expect lots of big commercial sites, he said. “Our commercial is village-scale, and we never want it to be more than village-scale,” he said. “The commercial is intended to be an amenity to the residential development.”

The commerce around the town center will be more mom-and-pop businesses and specialty stores, he said. “We sure would like to have a couple of great restaurants too.”

Developers have begun work on the first villa condominium building, named D’Iberville Place, overlooking the water. Two of the six units are already committed. Construction is expected to take about a year.

The show house, which will house the Lost Rabbit sales office, should be complete by Nov. 15,Frascogna said. “We anticipate (the sales office) staying there 12-18 months until we build the first buildings in the town center.”

Frascogna said construction on the marina should begin later this year or early next year. “

Once we complete the marina, people will be able to see and appreciate the richness of the plan,” Frascogna said.

“Right now when you drive in, it looks like a residential development. Once you can make the turn and go to the marina, you can see the true experience. “

By this time next year, there will be some dramatic changes,” he said.