Lylewood Glen in Carver

December 9th, 2015

Drive down the street in the Lylewood Glen neighborhood in Carver and the difference is night and day compared to what existed just a few years ago. Lylewood Glen was a classic busted housing development that fell on hard times during the housing crisis. The project had passed through the hands of not one, but a total of three home builders before Minneapolis-based Centra Homes stepped into the picture in the summer of 2012.

Centra Homes purchased the 93 lots out of receivership and set to work breathing new life into the project. “When we took over the project it was just a mess ranging from the debris and neglected maintenance of the area to the legal documents,” says Centra Homes Founder and president, Dale Wills.

Centra Homes worked closely with the existing homeowners association (HOA) to fix problems that had been left behind by the previous builders. The firm cleaned up debris and dead trees, corrected legal problems and initiated its own improvements, such as planting new trees and adding efficiencies to the home designs to make them more affordable to buyers.

At the time Centra Homes became involved with the project, there were about 15 existing homes in the neighborhood that had been built and sold. “Centra came along and recognized the issues that were going on and put together a formula for getting everything on track again, and did so in record time,” says Dave Loftness, a Lylewood Glen homeowner and former president of the Lylewood Glen Town Home Association. “Dale personally stayed involved for quite some time even though his company was dealing with numerous developments.”

One of the biggest problems that Centra Homes needed to tackle was untangling errors with existing legal documents. The neighborhood included multiple outlets devoted to common area space for the existing HOA. Each time a new builder came in, they redid existing documents. In one case, a piece of common area space that should have been owned by the HOA had ownership attributed to as many as four different entities. Centra Homes worked to get ownership transferred and get the right documents recorded to give the HOA the legal authority to control and manage its common area space.

The project also required significant physical clean-up. The neighborhood was literally a mess with abandoned trash and debris. Centra Homes brought in a large crew that spent several weeks just cleaning. They filled several dumpsters with trash, removed dead trees, and cleaned up the wetlands to get them thriving again. “I felt that they were kind of our heroes when they came in and not only bailed us out of a bad situation but also made so many improvements. So, I really can’t say enough positive things about my respect for Centra Homes,” adds Loftness.

Once the clean-up was complete, Centra Homes moved forward with construction. Among the 93 lots that Centra Homes purchased, three homes had been started and were about 60 percent complete, and seven foundations had been installed for 21 townhomes. The balance of the property was empty single-family home lots. Centra Homes finished the partially completed units. They also analyzed the engineering of the existing townhome foundations with testing and x-rays to make sure they were sound.

These days, the transformation of Lylewood Glen is nearly complete. The triplex units include two-story townhomes, as well as a rambler-style end unit that offers main floor living with the option of a finished or unfinished basement. Homes range in size from 1,368 to 2,871 square feet with a choice of two-bedroom units up to as large as five-bedroom units. Prices start at $191,500 with standard features that include designer kitchens, distinctive interiors, energy saving systems and Centra Homes’ trademark quality construction.

Sales have accelerated and Centra Homes is continuing to move forward with new construction on the remaining lots. “When we first got here, there was a lot of resistance from prospective buyers,” says Wills. Given the track record of the project, people were understandably skeptical, because it had been sitting there a long time with a history of different struggles. So, not only did Centra Homes have to clean up the project, they had to change people’s perception. It took a lot of time and effort, but that is exactly what the firm did. “The project looks fantastic. It is now a thriving community with a lot of buyers interested in the remaining units,” adds Wills