Each unit will feature a European design and range in size from 1,400 square feet to 2,200 square feet, said Scott Wallace, president of Keystone Homes, who described the project as Keystone's flagship. Most of the units will be a single story.

Prices on the duplexes and town homes are expected to range from the upper $100,000s to the low $200,000s. Friedburg Village will also include a 3,000-square-foot clubhouse, swimming pool, putting green and a four-hole, par-3 golf course.

Keystone plans to develop the subdivision over five to seven years, with work beginning this summer. Wallace said the first models should be available in early 2007.

There is demand for about 50 homes a year in that price range in northern Davidson County, according to data from MarketGraphics Inc., a  Brentwood, Tenn.,-based housing research firm.

Target market -
Wallace said Friedberg Village will be what he is branding as a "lifestyle living community," a development targeting empty nesters and retirees who still want to live in a house but don't want to worry about maintenance and lawn care. All of the external upkeep will be taken care of by the homeowners association, fees for which have not yet been set.

With baby boomers nearing retirement, many builders expect them to begin selling their larger homes to move into smaller, maintenance-free houses. As this demographic shift occurs, more builders are starting to target this population.

However, with the demand for these homes still unproven, Bernard Helm, president of Market Opportunity Research Enterprises, a Rocky Mount-based housing research firm, said there is a risk that supply will quickly outpace demand.

"It's a mistake for people to think that's the only market that's going to be available in the future," he said.

This is the second large-scale subdivision announced by Keystone in recent weeks. In late March, The Business Journal reported the company's plans for a 400-home subdivision in Walkertown named Whitehall Village.