STEPHENS CITY — Site work is underway for the West Wynd development in Stephens City, which will add 248 homes to the town.

D.R. Horton City Manager Tony Free said the company, which touts itself as America’s largest home builder, is grading and developing the land to prepare it for home construction.

The 85.52-acre development is located north of Fairfax Street and east of the CSX railroad tracks. It slated to be built in five phases, with residential and commercial components. West Wynd has been approved to have 153 detached single-family units and 95 townhomes.

According to Free, home construction is anticipated to begin late this year or early next year. The first homes will likely be completed in the spring or summer of 2023.

The land was previously owned by Beverley Shoemaker of the Bowman-Shoemaker companies before it was sold to developer Dave Holliday. Holliday in February sold most of the property — the residential section — to D.R. Horton for $2.3 million. 

Patrick Sowers, director of land development for Frederick County-based Dave Holliday Construction, said Holliday has retained about 16 acres of the development's commercial component.

There's no set date for when commercial development will begin, as it will depend “on the market," Sowers said. But he noted that once D.R. Horton builds the 248 homes, the commercial component will become more viable.

The bulk of the land was rezoned in 2007, but the economic downturn at that time delayed development. Additional rezoning occurred in 2020.

Proffers state that a minimum of 4,000 square feet of commercial structural area will be built. The developer will be limited to the approval of 60 residential dwelling permits annually, with the ability to carry forward 10 unused permits to the next calendar year.

The proffers also include:

• A monetary contribution of $1,500 per residential dwelling unit will be given to the town to pay for town administration projects listed in Stephens City’s Capital improvements Plan. The contributions will be capped at $382,500.
• A monetary contribution of $1,300 per residential dwelling unit to pay for public safety projects listed in the town’s Capital Improvements Plan. The contributions will be capped at $331,500.
• A monetary contribution of $700 per residential dwelling for public works projects. The contributions will be capped at $178,500.