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Hernando Today

Nicholson: Now's The Time To Build

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By MICHAEL D. BATES, Hernando Today

Published: January 11, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Despite the downturn in the housing industry, Brooksville engineer Nick Nicholson is telling his developer friends that now is the time to stop sitting on their projects and start building.

Nicholson, who has two housing projects in the hopper, got approval Wednesday from county commissioners to move forward with building 47 single-family homes on a 40-acre parcel off State Road 50.

The homes, north of Brookridge near Pine Grove Elementary School, will sit on lots generally of 1.65-acres.

The plan had originally called for 56 homes, but commissioners wanted the larger-sized parcels, which required downsizing the project. They also stipulated better road connectivity through the subdivision.

The project had already picked up a planning and zoning recommendation and was poised to sail through the Land Use Hearing on Wednesday.

However, County Commissioner Diane Rowden asked that Nicholson provide better accessibility in the subdivision to allow homeowners to conveniently drive in and out from the north and south.

Nicholson agreed to provide a connection to Irma Road, which would hook up with soon-to-be-paved Star Road, a major throughway.

In November, Hernando County recorded only 29 single-family home permits, tying a 12-year record.

December was equally bleak with 31 permits pulled.

Nicholson said he is undaunted by the grim statistics on new home construction. He is convinced the market will recover in a year, which means now is the time for developers to act.

It generally takes a year to wind through the permit process and another year to complete construction. So Nicholson figures his latest home project is timed right.

"I'm advising people to start construction now," he said.

Nicholson has an even larger housing project waiting in the wings: 216 apartments, 38 townhomes and 16 single-family homes planned for Emerson Road and Cortez Boulevard.

That project goes before planning and zoning commissioners in February.

"To the extent that those (developers) who can afford to do construction plans and have them ready to go, I think Nick's exactly right," said Don Lacey, vice president of Coastal Engineering Associates of Brooksville.

Developers, he said, need to be obtaining what is called in the industry their "land use entitlements," which puts them in position when the market rebounds.

Those entitlements include obtaining the property zoning, the conditional plats and master plan layouts from the county so developers know what they can do with the property.

Lacey agrees that obtaining permits and going through building department and government hoops can take up to a year.

The only risk is for builders who already have all their entitlements and are weighing whether to begin construction now, he said.

The advantages for them include getting cheaper prices on materials and labor. Contractors and suppliers are hungry for work right now, Lacey said.

But the risk remains: What if the market doesn't rebound in the next year? That's a crystal-ball call, he said.

"I am not a good prognosticator," he said.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

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