A resort community eludes the down economy

Despite sluggish real estate conditions across most of the US, the Humphreys Company has been moving ahead on developing a 950-acre resort community on Lake Eufaula, about a two-hour drive east of Oklahoma City.

The project, Carlton Landing, laid out by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. (DPZ) largely in the form of a traditional neighborhood development, got under way in late 2009 with road and utility installation, and advanced to construction of the first 10 houses, plus a community building, in late 2010.

The business strategy, says developer Grant Humphreys, calls for building Carlton Landing’s anticipated 2,500 houses gradually over the next 25 years — responding to conditions as they evolve.

The plan calls for a broad range of housing types and low-cost placemaking techniques. Agriculture is incorporated into the community as a key amenity.

“The unit types that DPZ and Zimmerman-Volk Associates put together are pretty varied,” which should help attract a considerable range of buyers, says Humphreys. Spec house are being built with asking prices of $170,000 to $430,000, on lots ranging from a little over $20,000 to $150,000. Most lots are between $35,000 and $50,000, “attainable for

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