At 3,650 square feet, the best-selling Virginia Elf model has a solid, family-friendly plan and a front porch and brick exterior that buyers in the Southeast prefer.
Courtesy John Zeigler Homes At 3,650 square feet, the best-selling Virginia Elf model has a solid, family-friendly plan and a front porch and brick exterior that buyers in the Southeast prefer.

Project Credits

Project: Lake Carolina, Columbia, S.C.; Sales started: November 1999; Sales through November 2001: 550; Units planned: 3,500; Price: $120,000 to $1 million; Unit size: 2,100 to over 6,000 square feet; Developer: Lake Carolina Inc., Columbia; Builder: John Zeigler Homes, Columbia; Architect: Bill Grissom Co., Columbia; Landscape architect: Landscape Design Services, Elgin, S.C

 
  • Prices range from the $120s to more than one million on a variety of lot sizes. Sales, mostly to young families, average over 20 per month.
  • Last year the community controlled 35 percent of the northeast Columbia market share in the $150,000 and above categories.
  • The 13 active neighborhoods contain 40 to 90 homesites each and a network of sidewalks, bike paths, and parks.
  • New urbanism guru Andres Duany planned the mixed-use town center called Harborside. It includes basic services such as doctors, dentists, dance studios, and karate and is within walking or biking distance of all of the homes.
  • Ninety percent of buyers are choosing to upgrade with gas fireplaces, 80 percent opt for an in-ground sprinkler system, and 75 percent go for solid surface countertops.

Why it worked: A 1,700-acre master plan that's home to the first new-urbanist -style development in the midlands section of the state. There are several competitors similar in size, but none have packaged the town center component.  

Learn more about markets featured in this article: Columbia, SC.