Huge 55-plus community is coming to Southeast Durham despite pollution concerns
A sprawling 55-plus master-planned community is slated for Southeast Durham despite concerns its builder is polluting nearby waterways with ongoing construction.
Mungo Homes, a subsidiary of Clayton Properties Group, is pressing ahead with the next phases of its Sweetbrier development after closing on the final installment of a $16 million land deal with East Durham Land Company, seller’s broker CBRE confirmed this week.
The South Carolina-based builder has earmarked some 240 acres of wooded land for its new 600-home Ovation at Sweetbrier subdivision. It targets retired baby boomers and sits next door to its existing (and less age-restrictive) Sweetbrier development along Olive Branch Road.
In total, over 1,250 new homes are expected from the projects once fully built out.
But it’s raised the ire of environmental watchdog Sound Rivers, which is suing Mungo Homes on claims that it is violating the Clean Water Act by failing to follow sediment control plans in the area’s 22.9-mile Lick Creek watershed.
It alleges the developer is discharging sediment at concentrations “20 times over” permit limits.
“Mungo’s pollution is turning the creeks the color of tomato soup,” Irena Como, a Southern Environmental Law Center attorney representing Sound Rivers, told The News & Observer on Thursday.
The case, filed last September, does not challenge the project’s construction, she added, but aims to stop the developer from clogging local creeks with “harmful pollution.”
In November, Mungo Homes filed a motion to dismiss. The lawsuit remains in court.
Vicky Hartshorn, Mungo Homes’ land planning manager, declined to comment on the pending litigation, but said the two communities together would form “a thriving residential enclave” in Durham.
First phase, 174 homes, is under construction
Ovation at Sweetbrier sits between Doc Nichols and Olive Branch roads. It’s about a 20-minute drive south to Raleigh-Durham International Airport and the Research Triangle.
The first phase, which closed in 2022, is under construction. About 174 single-family homes are scheduled to be delivered by early 2025, Hartshorn said. The remaining homes and townhouses will be built out over two phases.
Single-family homes range from 2,408 to 4,330 square feet, and two-story townhouses range from 1,933 to 2,497 square feet, according to the website. Amenities include a clubhouse, sports courts, a dog park and several pocket parks.
Prices are expected to start in the high $300,000s, CBRE said. The development does have age restrictions: 80% of the homes must be occupied by a resident aged 55 and over; and permanent residents under 19 are not allowed.
Across the way, Sweetbrier is less prohibitive. It’s now selling with more “traditional” offerings to appeal to a wider demographic such as a pool with a lazy river feature and a ninja warrior-themed playground. Depending on floor plans, prices start in the low $400,000s.
Southeast Durham’s growth spurt
Sweetbrier is one of several residential developments to pop up as growth has exploded in Southeast Durham in recent years.
In just the past decade, CBRE’s Land Services Group in Raleigh said it has brokered 10 deals totaling over 500 acres in the basin. They include the 1,292-home 55-plus Carolina Arbors by Dell Webb and the 52-home Enclave at Leesville by HHHunt.
Another three projects totaling 500-plus acres — including the 420-home Shady Grover development — are currently under entitlement, CBRE’s executive vice president Chester F. Allen said.
“It’s crazy to see all the development activity happening now. Nearly every major national homebuilder is involved,” he said.
Nearby residents continue to question whether the area’s environmental resources can handle the clear cutting and mass grading necessary to build thousands of new homes.
Reporter Adam Wagner contributed to this report.
Sediment levels in Durham’s Lick Creek are rising. So are emotions about development.
