Twist the adage “love where you live, live where you work,” and you can find “love where you live and work” as a possible slogan for Autumn Hall’s Dungannon Village, the next section of the Eastwood Road community for which conceptual planning has been completed.

Combining lower-level commercial space with upper-level residential living space in distinctly southern architecture, the live/work buildings “will provide an opportunity for small business owners to operate their business on the street level with the convenience of their residence on the second floor,” according to a company news release.

Incorporating a landscaped plaza, Dungannon will include a restaurant, small shops, a market, delicatessen, coffee shop and wine bar. Residents and customers can travel to the Village by car, but also by walking or biking paths that entwine the community. A tenet of the entire community is the ease of travel within its borders.

Dungannon Village’s main entrance is just off the community’s entrance at Eastwood Road where footings have been completed for overhead turn signals.

Riding through the property with Autumn Hall Realty partner Brian Eckel, it’s easy to see how living and working in the community appeals to potential buyers. Eckel explained that the land plan, which originated with the role of the property and its thick forest in mind, evolved to allow preservation of the existing flora and fauna. Employing an arborist as part of the development team, they tweaked and altered plans to save trees by constructing around them or by spading and
relocating them. More than 200 mature trees have thus far been saved. The result is evident along the roadways where young oaks are tethered as well as in the children’s play area, named Chapel Park for its thick canopy of trees.

A centerpiece of the property is a large lake originally dug in the 1960s as a borrow pit by Raiford Trask when he developed the surrounding neighborhoods. After testing and finding that the pit had high quality sand and soil, the current company dug out thousands of square yards and are stockpiling it on the property for later development needs. The digging has resulted in a much larger lake which will form the back drop for single family housing as well as for a future hotel site. Elevation at the site runs from 35 feet down to nine feet. The original family house, Autumn Hall, which overlooked the lake, has been razed.

Nearby, a small slip of Bradley Creek touches the property. Eckel said he personally paddled his canoe from that spot to the Intracoastal to be certain that it was possible before he told others that it was. They have applied for a permit to build a kayak launch on the spot.

Many of Autumn Hall’s residential lots open onto park space, 51 acres total, each with a different theme and each easily accessible by residents. In fact, no planned home is farther than 400 feet from one of Autumn Hall’s eleven parks. Between Dungannon Village and Chapel Park are single family homes in various stages of construction, including one occupied by the development’s first residents. Six residential builders are present in the community. The original builder’s lottery occurred just before the sewer moratorium, so four of the original ten respondents dropped out due to the delay.

A townhome product with alley entrances opening onto a garden green will be introduced later in the year. The price point is expected to be in the neighborhood of $370,000 to $450,000, Eckel said, although he emphasized that much of the product detail remains fluid in order to allow quick response to the real estate market. The land plan currently calls for 273 single family homes, 200 condominiums and 33 townhomes.

Autumn Hall is owned by several members of the Trask family. Autumn Hall Realty LLC is owned by Raiford Trask III, Brian Eckel and Vinn Wells. Wells and Eckel are the founders of Cape Fear Commercial which is handling commercial leasing for Autumn Hall. Three sales people are in the Eastwood Road sales office. Eckel said they are receiving a good mix of walk-in traffic along with phone and Internet inquiries. Lots are for sale to individuals as well as builders and range in price from about $180,000 to about $255,000. A model home is open.

In addition to family members, the Autumn Hall development team includes Autumn Hall, Inc., Cape Fear Commercial, ColeJenest & Stone, LS3P Boney, Thomas Construction Group, Mihaly-Cirello, and Scott’s Treescape according to company documents.