REAL-ESTATE

Nearly 3 times the size of The Landings, Richmond Hill housing development will double population

With around 10,000 homes going up over the course of two decades, the Heartwood community will dwarf the population of The Landings in Savannah and double the population of Richmond Hill.

Latrice Williams
Savannah Morning News

Eight years ago, Bill Cunningham, vice president of real estate for Raydient Places and Properties, learned Bryan County was one of the fastest growing areas in the country. That, coupled with his love for the outdoors, prompted him to build a neighborhood where residents can connect with nature in their own backyard.

From there, Heartwood at Richmond Hill was born.

Carved out of a forest, the community will boast a collection of homes with upscale design and character throughout. Most importantly, Cunningham’s goal is to bring the community together through nature. Whether it be the bike and walking trail or Outfitters Park, residents will be able to enjoy the landscape of greenery surrounding them.

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Heartwood at Richmond Hill sits off I-95 at Exit 82 and will boast more than 10,000 homes. Starting price for a four-bedroom, three-bath home will be between $380,000-$480,000.

A new home under construction on Loblolly Lane in Heartwood Richmond Hill.

It will take 20-25 years before the entire community is complete. Randy Dykes, director of planning and zoning for Richmond Hill, said the community will be just as big as Richmond Hill itself.

With companies like Medline and Xebec a five-minute drive from the neighborhood, Cunningham is getting one step closer to having a community where people work, play and live – and never have to leave.

The Logistics

The west side of I-95 was annexed in 2013. With a project that has been nearly ten years in the making, the staff made adjustments to ensure the city can handle what will be a colossal development.

The city, county, Raydient and buyers who purchase homes in the development will be responsible for funding new roads or improvements to them. Cunningham said Greater Ogeechee Parkway will be expanded.

“The Greater Ogeechee Parkway will be built as a four-lane road,” said Cunningham. “It's a two-lane road today. We donated enough land so they can build another two lanes on the other side. And that was designed as a parkway that connects Richmond Hill to Belfast Keller Road in which is connected to the new intersection.”

A model home as well as other new construction homes in the newly developed Heartwood at Richmond Hill.

Plans are in place to extend Warren Hill Road where Frances Meeks Elementary School is located. The road will tie into the roundabout on the Great Ogeechee Parkway. Dykes said that improvement will lessen overcrowding in that area.

“That will help congestion around the school because right now they only have one way in and out,” said Dykes.

The Great Ogeechee Parkway will be a key facet in the development. Improvements to that road will ease the flow of traffic as people begin piling into the community.

“We have the Great Ogeechee Parkway that we put in and we are working on improvements to Belfast Keller Road,” said Dykes. “That is not a city road. It belongs to the county. The county has a widening plan for that road to handle future needs for the traffic. We are in the process of going through that procedure now to finalize what that is going to look like and then we are working with the county and Raydient Places for funding to widening the road when that time comes.”

Dykes said Raydient is doing everything they can now to eliminate any snags once residents start moving in.

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“I know they are in discussions with the power company right now,” said Dykes. “As the phases are developed, the developer will send their plans to the power company and they will design the size of the transformer and the lines that need to go in. They are aware of what the current and future needs are.”

Heartwood Richmond Hill will offer residential, commercial, and industrial developments off Belfast Keller Road.

An infrastructure project was completed recently to loop the watermain around that area to the city. “Right now we have the power to handle the development,” said Dykes.

“We updated our wastewater plant a few years ago. That stuff is good to go.”

Amenities

Outfitters Park will be the hub of the community where residents will have access to a small kitchen, gym and pool. “There will be an asphalt trail that will run down to the roundabout,” said Cunningham. “It’s about a 2-mile loop from Outfitters Park to the roundabout.”

The architectural design of Outfitters Park pays homage to the natural elements surrounding it.

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“So the main thing on this is we're a timber company,” said Cunningham. “And so it's kind of a nod to timber. Folks can gather for events here too.”

The swimming pool and clubhouse are under construction for one of the new Heartwood at Richmond Hill neighborhoods.

Completion of Outfitters Park is slated for August 2022.

Loblolly

Cunningham wants every facet of the community to have a piece of nature in it, so street names are a nod to trees. Loblolly, a popular pine tree used to build homes, is the name of the first subdivision in Heartwood.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation, Loblolly pine is “one of the fastest growing southern pines and is used as a quick-screen in many landscapes.”

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The community will feature a 9-acre lagoon for stormwater and a 2-mile trail for bikers and walkers.

Workers run cable underground outside of new homes being built in Heartwood at Richmond Hill in 2022.

To see the interchange opening was key for us because it gave us certainty about where we wanted to start a residential,” said Cunningham. “And so it's really fun to see the transformation – from a pine forest into a place where people want to live.”

Cunningham went on to say he expects each subdivision to be built at the same rate as new homes in nearby counties.

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“If you look over the last 20 or so years, you can see the trends,” said Cunningham.

“Bryan County has been the bedroom community for Savannah. And it's been, in the slow years, probably 250 new homes, and in a really strong years, 400 or 500 homes. And we expect to be at the same pace. We don't think that's going to change a whole lot. When you look at the metropolitan statistical area, which is Effingham, Chatham and Bryan, it's about 1,800 homes a year. Half of those are in Chatham County and about 30% are in Effingham and about 20% percent or so are here.”

New homes are under construction, while other homesites have already been laid out on Loblolly Lane in Heartwood Richmond Hill.

The first phase of Loblolly has about 175 lots and more than 100 have been completed. The next 60 lots will be delivered in the first quarter of next year. Homes are for sale now and the first resident is scheduled to move in July.

Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.