The additional homes will comprise but a portion of the 1,500-acre project, which eventually will include as much as 1 million square feet of office space and a 90-acre retail center in addition to 800 homes and the Grandover Resort and its two accompanying golf courses.

But all of the current activity at Grandover is currently focused on residential construction. Combined, the four new communities will add 182 high-end single-family homes and town homes to the development.

The largest of the new developments is still unnamed. The approximately 76 acres will be divided into 90 lots, some of which will be along Grandover's west golf course. Lot prices in the subdivision will range from $130,000 to more than $300,000. The homes will be built by eight custom builders.

Work is expected to begin within a year on another single-family home community, this one known as Griffin's Gate. The 21-acre community will contain 48 homes, with prices starting around $500,000.

Construction recently began on two town home communities. The first one, Cresswell Manor, adjoins an existing community named Cresswell Court. Cresswell Manor will have 38 units, with prices starting in the mid-$400,000s. The second town home community, Chipper's Court, will contain six town homes, also with prices starting in the mid-$400,000 range. The small neighborhood is tucked away on an acre along the west golf course.

Vanore said about 170 lots have been developed and sold in Grandover since the mid-1990s, with many home prices topping $1 million. While some observers say the growth has been slow, Vanore said Koury deliberately took its time in developing the lots to make sure the project was being done right. The pace of development has picked up in recent years, he said.

While some segments of the new-home market are starting to weaken, there is still a strong demand for luxury housing, said Betty Smith, president of Smith Marketing, which specializes in sales at high-end developments. Smith said she expected there to be a lot of interest in Grandover's new homes.

Office development at Grandover is temporarily on hold. Gene Tillman, the vice president of office and industrial development for Koury, said about three-fourths of the 200,000 square feet of existing office space at Grandover had been leased. Tillman said there are no immediate plans to build more speculative office space, but said Koury will build to suit. Grandover still has lots remaining for office buildings as large as 400,000 square feet.

Construction on the 90-acre retail portion of Grandover is at least a year away, said Ron Mack, Koury's executive vice president of retail. The company is waiting for the extension of Guilford College Road to be complete before beginning construction. In the meantime, Mack said, Koury is working on plans for the site, which could include up to 500,000 square feet of retail. When construction begins, the retail portion will likely be built in phases, he said.