The first signs of construction are underway for TalisTrails — the epicenter for the largest concentration of planned growth in northeast Tallahassee. Crews are clearing land and putting down infrastructure for the first wave of homes.
Stretching across 900 acres within the Welanuee Plantation property, the master-planned community is slated to inject 1,500 homes and 600 apartments in a market thirsty for new housing inventory.
It’s being built by GreenPointe Holdings, a Jacksonville-based residential development firm responsible for 20 other master-planned communities in Florida that represent a $1 billion investment across 27,000 homes, 2,200 apartment units and 950,000 square feet of commercial and retail space in Florida.
Ed Burr, chairman and CEO at GreenPointe Holdings, said TalisTrails will be a “true comprehensive master planned community,” where the look and feel will be designed to blend with Tallahassee’s taste and topography. He said the community will be “unique to what the people of Tallahassee and the market there likes and prefers.”
In an exclusive interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, Burr offered insight on what will be a $215 million investment in Tallahassee, the construction timeline and more.
TalisTrails homes construction begins in 2027
TalisTrails is located off I-10 and Mahan Drive within the Welaneee property, which is sliced into three geographic areas — referred to as the “Toe,” the “Heel” and the “Arch.”
Burr, a Florida State alum who served as the chairman of the Florida State University Board of Trustees from 2015 to 2021, said most of the 1,500 homes in the works will be single-family homes and a smaller number of townhomes blended into the community’s design. Phase I will focus on single family homes.
“That’s a future market decision,” Burr said, regarding the housing mix. “We’re allowed to build townhomes but none are currently planned.”
The company is planning to build apartments at some point, along with commercial and retail space and a gas station. The property will also feature a business park where “there’ll be places for employment, offices and warehouses.”
The company prides itself on building communities that offer a place for residents to connect, he said, adding all of their properties are built with amenities like fitness centers, parks, tennis courts and “whatever is appropriate for the site.”
“One thing that TalisTrails will have by its pure name is a great trail system,” Burr said.
Construction timeline project for TalisTrail
It could take up to a decade to fully build out TalisTrails, which will require multiple phases over the years and consideration for market changes.
Right now, Burr said, construction is underway for more than 250 homes that are part of the $51 million Phase 1. He said crews are clearing, grubbing and putting in the necessary infrastructure.
“There’s a lot of work going on,” said Burr, who added construction should begin in about 12 months for the first homes.
Around the same time, some commercial development will begin along the property’s outlying parcels. Burr said the residential side of Phase I should be completed within about the next seven to eight years.
“The commercial and business park will have a life of their own,” said Burr, adding commercial space for a grocery store will be built in about three years, and the apartments would be built in the next year or so.
Who will be building the homes at TalisTrails?
Two familiar names will be the primary builders for the residential homes.
One is D.R. Horton, the country’s largest home builder that’s build more than one million homes as of 2023. Its fingerprints are scattered throughout the Big Bend area with homes in Leon, Gadsden, and Wakulla counties.
The other builder is Premier Homes, the largest Tallahassee-based residential developer that’s already built the property’s soon-to-be neighbor, Canopy at Welaunee, a master-planned community stretching across 500 acres off Fleischmann Road.
“We love when we can take a national home builder like DR Horton … the largest home builder in the country and we can combine it with a local home builder,” Burr said. “There’s a wonderful mix of housing that we can offer and make sure we can offer a variety of housing that meets the needs of residents and future residents of TalisTrails.”
Burr said permit process put TalisTrails behind schedule
It took about a year longer than GreenPointe had expected to get the permits to get started with construction.
“We certainly got started later than we planned on,” Burr said. “The permitting process took a lot longer than we dreamed possible.”
Much of the delay was associated with changes at the federal level, not the local level. Burr said some issues were tied to the “election process that changed the federal permitting process.”
When asked about the company’s overall experience with the local permit process, Burr said the permitting codes “aren’t really designed for multi-phased, master-planned communities.”
“So it makes it a challenge to get a large-scale, master-planned community permitted,” he said. “We stay with it, but it certainly has been a challenge.”
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TalisTrails developer of Welaunee Heel shares vision, challenges
Reporting by TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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