October 26, 2008
Open houses: Huge new Putnam County development to start tours
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SCOTT DEPOT, W.Va. - In the market for an apartment or townhouse? As soon as next month, Putnam County's largest housing development will open for tours.

Workers with Cathcart Properties are in the final stages of construction of the first apartment and townhouse complex in Devonshire at Teays Valley.

"We're about two or three months away," the company's CEO Rip Cathcart said.

But construction is nowhere near completion. Cathcart expects to keep building over the next decade or more.

Plans for the Devonshire development include 532 luxury rental apartments, 174 townhouses, 72 condominiums and 59 single-family lots - a total of $170 million in property.

In coming weeks, construction crews will complete the first apartment building, featuring 28 apartments with between one and three bedrooms. They rent for $750 to $1,405 a month.

Workers also are expected to finish construction on the development's first townhouse complex. The complex will feature six three-bedroom townhouses. Each townhouse will have between 1,454 and 1,556 square feet. Prices start at $160,000.

Cathcart hopes to attract both renters and buyers by pitching the convenience of Devonshire's location between Charleston and Huntington and its proximity to the new U.S. 35 interchange.

Despite the current housing market, he says he does expect to have a harder time selling the townhouses. And he does not believe the current trouble in the housing market will affect rental apartments.

"People are not buying, but they have to live somewhere," Cathcart said.

Potential residents include empty-nesters who want to downsize their homes and young professional couples and singles, he said.

"You're getting a luxury lifestyle for a quarter of the price," Cathcart said.

In Devonshire, residents do not have to worry about mowing the lawn or cleaning the gutters.

They will have access to a "clubhouse" containing a 1,000-square-foot gym, massage room, tanning bed, billiards parlor, business center, resort-style pool, movie theater, executive chef's kitchen, an entertainment area and an indoor and outdoor fireplace.

Todd Dofflemyer, vice president of devolvement for Cathcart Properties, said the company plans to divide construction into two phases. In total, the development will include six apartment buildings and seven townhouse complexes.

Eventually, 837 upscale apartments, townhouses, condos and homes will sprawl over 111 acres just off Hedrick Road in Scott Depot.

The company is completing construction on its first townhouse complex and will not begin construction on the next until it sells 50 percent of the building, Dofflemyer said.

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