Tyler, Home on the Lake
New Bern, North Carolina
Categories Place Visioning, Place Delivery, Place Management
Main Services Feasability Studies, Engineering Consultations, Cost-to-Complete Budgets, Project Repositioning & Design, Development & Project Management, Asset Management, HOA & Declarant Services
Objective Strategic repositioning of a stalled residential community
Project Type Residential community
Project Size 408 fully-developed single family lots
Status Complete
St. Bourke was engaged to reposition a project formerly known as Lake Tyler, a partially constructed residential community that stalled and fell into foreclosure during the Recession. The project was partially developed, however only 15 homes had been constructed before the original developer went under in 2011. St. Bourke’s objective was to revive the community through a series of improvements designed to unlock value and optimize the community’s aesthetics.
The project faced a number of critical issues, including:
· a stigma as an incomplete, failed community
· severely damaged stormwater infrastructure
· a lack of identity and unbuilt community improvements
To realize the project’s potential, St. Bourke’s strategy focused on the following:
Project identity – St. Bourke engaged a creative branding firm to reimagine the project’s identity. Using the internal 60-acre lake for inspiration, a new community brand was created, including name, logo, and color palette. The community was renamed Tyler, Home on the Lake and the brand was applied to signage throughout the community. Additionally, a community website was launched to establish the brand, provide improvement updates to current and future residents, and drive sales traffic to the selected homebuilding partner (www.tylernb.com).
Entrance features – Given the community’s frontage along a main highway in the area, as well as the size of the community, there was an opportunity to create an entrance feature that would make a statement and serve as a standalone marketing tool. St. Bourke enlisted the help of a well-known landscape architect to design an entrance consistent with the community’s new brand. The design charrette culminated in a custom stone & metal entrance monument with 27’ accents resembling the sails of a boat, extensive landscaping and accompanying lighting, and the construction of hundreds of feet of decorative stone walls and equestrian fencing.
Activating the lake – Because the 60-acre lake is a major focal point for the community, it was essential that the St. Bourke team find a way to unlock its value by transforming it from a purely aesthetic amenity to an interactive amenity. To achieve this, the St. Bourke team designed a welcoming park that incorporates a spectacular timber pavilion with a fireplace, lush landscaping, and a walking trail down to the lake, where a community dock has been constructed for resident use.
Infrastructure repair – Due to Tyler’s aging stormwater system, the project had been plagued with road failures and related issues for several years. As part of this initiative, a detailed engineering plan was designed to repair and replace the affected stormwater system, to minimize risk for both the client and the future homebuilder(s). Further, a proactive asset management plan was implemented to preserve the remaining infrastructure and maintain it in the future.
The initiatives detailed above have unlocked significant value and allowed our client to position the community to demand a price premium going forward. The project has attracted DR Horton, the country’s #1 homebuilder by volume, and has become New Bern’s fastest-selling community since new home construction began in August 2018.
For more information on Tyler, Home on the Lake, contact Andrew Galucki at andrew@stbourke.com.
