Noel family building a community within a community in Abbeville

On the northern part of Abbeville along Jane Street (the old quarter mile road), there is construction taking place to create something that has never been built in Abbeville.
James Noel Jr. is creating “Plantation Ridge” which is not just another subdivision. Plantation Ridge will be comprised of more than 120 homes, children parks throughout the subdivision, a pond, coupled with a lighted sidewalk that will lead to a future shopping center.
Noel is calling it, “Abbeville’s own mixed use community.”
“It is unique,” said Noel. “It has always been a dream of mine to build a little community that people can live, work and play in.”
The idea was born in 2007 and over time, Noel and his wife Donna have slowly began making the dream a reality. First came the engineer drawings and then construction.
Noel began constructing the first phase called “The Estates.” This consist of nine 1.5 acre lots for homes 2,000 square foot or larger. Today, four out of the nine lots have homes on them with another about to break ground.
The second phase of the project was the construction of “The Gardens” off of Jane Street. The Gardens consists of 24 homes, average size of 1,300 square feet, built on a cul-de-sac. Within a short period of time, all 24 homes were sold and a handful of them were even resold for a higher price.
The newest, and the biggest challenge for the Noels, is the third phase, “The Quarters.” The Quarters is on 19 acres of high land.
There will soon be 88 lots readied for building in The Quarters. These lots range in size for different size homes.
Noel developed lots to accommodate 1,300 to 1,800 and larger square foot homes.
“My goal was to try and have something for everyone,” he said. “I created this because the market was asking for it.”
Noel has already constructed the road and installed the water & sewer lines within The Quarters and the City of Abbeville has been installing underground electrical lines. They are expected to be 100 percent complete in the next couple of weeks.
Once the infrastructure is in place, Manuel Builders will be constructing the homes that will be offered for sale and continue to do so until all homes have been built and sold. Construction of the homes is expected to start next month. The price range is expected to be will be $130,000 on up.
When most of the homes and lots are occupied in The Quarters, Noel will begin the next phase of Plantation Ridge - the construction of a strip-mall at the corner of Jane Street and Hwy 338.
“I want people to be able to walk up and down the lighted tree lined sidewalk to the mall and then walk back home,” said Noel. “They can also take their children to the park. It is going to be a community within a community that all the residents will be proud to call home.”