Controversial Burningtree subdivision apparently at a standstill

May 11—Work on an already controversial addition of the Foxwood Farm subdivision in the Burningtree area has been at a standstill for close to six months, according to neighbors, and dozens of lawsuits have been filed statewide against the developer.

Shells of close to a dozen unfinished homes, blue containers filled with wood and other debris, construction materials and portable restrooms line the new street connected to Foxwood Drive Southeast.

Foxwood Drive has a few more poured slabs waiting for continued work on the western section of the road. The street connects with the new Lakota Drive, where a backhoe sits, and there is sitework in various stages in the red dirt with gravel piles and unused pipe on the planned lots.

"Nothing has been going on for months. I don't remember the last time I saw something happening there. It seems like to me ... it was before Christmas," Kiowa Trail resident Faye Anderson said of Foxwood Farm. Her home is adjacent to the new subdivision.

"It's so ugly," Anderson said. "It's an eyesore. I'll have friends who come to visit, and they'll make comments about how ugly it is."

Burningtree Drive Southeast resident John Bush said the subdivision "looks abandoned, especially with the exposed wafer board on the roof and weeds growing everywhere. You can tell that work is at a dead standstill."

Prominence Homes, of Birmingham, is the owner and developer of what's supposed to become a 175-lot subdivision on 26.84 acres off Foxwood Drive Southeast. The Decatur Planning Commission approved the site plan in March 2023.

The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment by The Decatur Daily. Birmingham attorney Allston Macon, listed as the company's attorney on an unrelated court document, said he would notify Prominence officials that The Daily was attempting to get a response but, once again, no one responded.

According to Secretary of State records, Mike McMullen is Prominence's CEO and Misty Glass is its chief financial officer.

Anderson said what appeared to be the first action in months at the subdivision occurred this week, so she went over and talked to the workers.

"It was AT&T running 5G fiberoptics," Anderson said. "The gentlemen said it had already been prearranged before all of the construction stopped."

Anderson said she's not opposed to growth, and she believes this area near Burningtree Country Club, which features a golf course and pool, should be a "wonderful place" that attracts young professionals to the city.

"I don't know how we can attract people to the city with something like Foxwood Farm," Anderson said. "If someone comes wandering around looking for a place to live, they see that mess."

City Director of Development Dane Shaw said the city is aware of the situation at Foxwood Farm, and they told the developer to clean up the property.

There are lots of building materials at the subdivision including wafer board, insulated panels and plywood that are deteriorating in the weather. Shaw said the city will need to inspect the homes again if the developer moves forward with the subdivision. He declined to comment further. — Lawsuits

Two Morgan County lawsuits were filed against Prominence Homes in March involving the subdivision, one for $192,168 by Ready-Mix USA and one for $207,995 by Acme Brick Co. Both allege they performed work on the homes and were not paid. Prominence has not responded to either lawsuit, according to court records.

American WallZone Supply, of Madison, filed six liens for a combined total of $21,219 against Prominence on Jan. 25 for unpaid work and materials at Foxwood Farm.

A total of 32 lawsuits have been filed against Prominence Homes and related companies in 2024. Almost all the lawsuits are by contractors alleging nonpayment on various developments.

Foxwood Farm became controversial even before work began. Prior to its initial sale, the Planning Commission approved a request to rezone the property from R-2 to R-3 in August 2021.

R-3 zoning allows for more population density, as it requires only 7,000-square-foot lots as opposed to the 10,000-square-foot lots required in an R-2 zone. Most of the homes in Burningtree are zoned for R-1 or R-2, so residents expressed concern about the smaller lots.

They were also unhappy about the additional traffic with Burningtree Drive providing the only exit out of their neighborhood.

Arthur Steber, of Team Elevator LLC in Birmingham, and his investors formed a new development company, Foxwood Farms Subdivision Development Co., and bought the land early last year.

Steber then sold the subdivision to Prominence Homes, which promotes itself on its website as "a leader in the build-to-rent industry."

Build to rent, also known as BTR, is a subdivision in which the homes are built with the intention of renting them instead of selling them. In some cases, a developer sells a portion or all of the homes to an investor or group of investors who then rent them out.

Several neighbors to the Foxwood Farm subdivision became angry when they saw the BTR promotion. They successfully pushed the City Council to pass a BTR moratorium in August, but it doesn't apply to Foxwood because the subdivision had already been approved and was underway.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432