Developers broke ground recently on a single-family and townhome rental community in Bolivia.

Ohio-based Stark Enterprises, in collaboration with affiliated companies Stark Living and Arbor Construction, is building Oak Harbor Village at the intersection of Sunset Harbor Road and N.C. 211.

The 23-acre community will include 130 single-story, ranch-style homes and two-story townhomes rental units, according to a news release.  

“Everyone has a preference and we're giving people the option and variety…it creates that synergy of a real neighborhood,” said Stacie Schmidt, vice president of Stark Enterprises.

The units, which have one to three bedrooms with an average size of 1,232 square feet, have private patios, walk-in closets, private driveways, a two-car attached garage and more, Schmidt said.

The development will also include an array of amenities– a clubhouse, dog park, fitness center, playground, lap-lane pool, sundeck, pergolas, grilling stations and entertainment areas, she said.

Recently, developers have been capitalizing on the build-to-rent trend.

“People want a home but sometimes don’t want a commitment,” Schmidt said. “We’re giving them all the luxuries of home ownership without the hassle.” 

The Brunswick County town of Bolivia, the county seat, seemed like a good bet, she said.

“We're interested in trying to find markets that are in need of housing, and Bolivia in our research shows that it's in a growth spurt,” Schmidt said.

Stark Living, the residential property management arm of Stark Enterprises, will oversee the community's operations with on-site management and maintenance teams, the release stated. The company is expanding its build-to-rent concept beyond West Shire Village in Ocala, Florida, with Oak Harbor Village being the second of its kind, the release stated. Plans are underway to introduce the concept to up to five new cities.

“Once we put our foot into a specific market and make it our own, we build roots. We stay and we collaborate and partner with the neighbors and with the communities that we're in,” said Stark Enterprises CEO Ezra Stark in the release.

According to the release, construction of Oak Harbor Village is slated for completion in the summer of 2025, with pre-leasing scheduled to begin several months beforehand.