Construction is underway on once-disputed Shadow Wood Villas in Cape

The first phase of the once-disputed Shadow Wood Villas is underway on Hawthorne Road.

The new subdivision, developed by GMA Development LLC, will feature 20 housing units — 16 individual villas within eight duplex houses and four single-family homes — with each building set on a separate lot, arranged around two cul-de-sacs.

Three of the homes have been erected, with a fourth set to begin this week, developer Gary Arnold said.

When phase one is complete, 10 units will be constructed.

The villas, Arnold said, are not like traditional duplexes and instead are set up like condominiums, complete with a homeowners’ association overseeing exterior maintenance. Each half of the duplex will be sold individually.

“The beauty part is you can buy a duplex anywhere, but you can’t buy half of a building unless you have an association like that,” Arnold said.

Arnold selected the location based on its proximity to pharmacies, both hospitals and Clippard Elementary School. He said the properties are ideal for an older generation seeking centrally located homes, minimizing the time spent driving to necessary destinations.

And the homeowners’ association will eliminate much of the need for exterior upkeep, which could be appealing to older homebuyers as well.

But younger homebuyers could find Shadow Wood Villas appealing, too.

“There’s just so many working couples that are working and don’t have the time to maintain the exterior of the home and do the mowing and the landscaping,” Arnold said.

“That’s all taken care of by the association.”

Development of Shadow Wood Villas has not been without its roadblocks.

Homeowners near the forthcoming subdivision worried paving the once-empty field and building houses and duplexes on the site would push stormwater into their yards.

In January, the Cape Girardeau City Council delayed action on Arnold’s development request after a lawyer for four families on Sharon Drive asked for time to secure an independent engineering analysis of the flooding potential.

By March, city manager Scott Meyer said the project opponents had not presented any new information to city staff.

The property was rezoned from R-1, residential, to PD, planned development. The planned development zoning essentially allows the developer to propose his or her own regulations and requires an extensive review, city planner Ryan Shrimplin said.

The final development plan and subdivision plot for Shadow Wood Villas both were approved earlier in the year, allowing Arnold to move forward on the project.

“Everything is fine,” Arnold said about the concerns. “I think they just weren’t happy something was going to be built behind their house.”

The first phase is expected to be complete within two years.

The residences, built with a combination of brick, vinyl and Dryvit plaster, range from 1,500 to 1,900 square feet.

“Most of them have two bedrooms, an office, a great room, large master bedroom and large master baths,” Arnold said. “And two-car garages.”

The developers are putting in infrastructure for all 20 units now, but Arnold said construction on phase two will not begin until phase one is complete and sold.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

2930 Hawthorne Road