Published: June 15, 2008 09:48 pm      

Demand high for new housing

PRINCETON — Along Route 20 between Princeton and Bluewell, excavation equipment stood on cleared land under early summer skies. It’s an increasingly common sight as a desire for new places to live help fuel construction along the corridor linking two sections of Mercer County.

Communities along Route 20 between Princeton, the Glenwood area and Bluewell have seen new townhouses and housing developments spring up during the last year. Much of this new building has been inspired by the fact that a good portion of the county’s residential property is made up of older homes.

“Well, right now our area has not had a whole lot of new construction going on,” said Barbara Belcher, president of the Mercer-Tazewell County Board of REALTORS. “Most of our residential property around here are older properties. A lot of folks are wanting new construction.”

Retirees who are returning to Mercer County have sought new homes, and younger people look to put new roofs over their heads, too.

“We have young people who are staying in the area, getting married and getting good jobs, and they’re wanting new construction,” Belcher said. “When you have two incomes you can do that.”

One new development now in its preliminary stages is the Villas at Lake View along Route 20 near Glenwood Park. Approximately 100 townhouses are planned, said Christie Bailey, secretary of corporation with Keesling Realty.

Bailey said the company had been looking for a suitable piece of property in the Princeton area for the project; the 30 to 40 acres of land became available a year ago.

There is not much land inside Princeton proper, so development is moving into the outskirts of the city, Bailey said. It is similar to what is being seen in Bluewell.

“With our location, we couldn’t be happier,” she said.

Jeff Livingston, owner of Century 21 Select Properties in Bluefield, agreed that a desire for new homes is helping drive new building in the county during the last two years. One new development along Route 20 outside of Brushfork, Hope Vista, has been doing well, he said.

Livingston said he has seen McDowell County people coming to live in Mercer County. They want new homes, but they want to be where they can easily commute back to jobs in McDowell. He is starting a new development in Brushfork, Restwood Village, with 70 one-level townhomes to help meet demand.

“It seems that we get a lot of retirees,” he said. “I think are lot of people are coming back from bigger towns like (Washington) D.C., Orlando and Charlotte,” he said.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com