Efficient New Homes Going Up in Osceola

Homes are under construction at the $30 million Riverback Estates in Osceola. (Provided)

The first homes in the $30 million Riverback Estates development project in Osceola are expected to be ready for sale in October.

“These are going to be the most energy-efficient houses in the state of Arkansas,” said Guy Pardew, vice president of Olympus Construction of Jonesboro, which is developing the project along with the Magaman Group LLC of Mountain Home, led by Jeffrey Magness.

Each home will be classified as a U.S. Department of Energy-certified Zero Energy Ready Home, Pardew said. That means that the homes are “so energy efficient that a renewable energy system could offset most or all the home’s annual energy use,” according to the DOE’s website.

Most of the homes will feature three bedrooms and two bathrooms and be between 1,600 SF and 2,500 SF. The development offers seven different floor plans.

The project will be off of West Keiser Avenue, across from Denso Manufacturing Arkansas Inc. at 100 Denso Road.

Pardew said the houses will be built in phases, and the first phase will have 25 homes and cost about $6 million.

“After this first phase we’re going to see what the market does,” he said.

The homes are estimated to cost around $185 a SF. But with Mississippi County’s “Work Here, Live Here” program, qualified homeowners will be able to save 10% off the price of the home.

The credit program, an initiative of the Mississippi County Economic Development Commission, pays 10% of the purchase price of any new home bought by eligible local employees working in the manufacturing sector.

The sewer and water lines have already been installed for the majority of the 30-acre, 100-lot project, Pardew said.

Construction of the roads for phase one is expected to start soon and be completed within the next two months.

“Ultimately, market absorption will dictate the timing of phases two and beyond,” Pardew said in a news release.

The regional real estate firm hired to sell the homes believes that there is pent-up demand for the type of homes being built in Riverback Estates, Pardew said.

“The type of jobs being created by the steel industry in Mississippi County are dictating that a next-level product be available for this area,”Jerry Halsey, a managing partner at Halsey Thrasher Harpole Real Estate Group of Jonesboro, said in the news release. “The style and efficiency of these homes are already causing a lot of talk in the community, and we are already seeing tremendous interest in the neighborhood.”