FAYETTEVILLE — A student housing complex south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and east of Beechwood Avenue will be Specialized Real Estate Group's largest project yet.

The Fayetteville-based company, which partnered with national firms to open Eco Modern Flats in 2011 and the Sterling Frisco apartments last year, plans to break ground on the 1,100-bedroom project -- called Idyll Village -- in June.

The project's first phase, with 670 beds, is slated to open in August 2015. A representative for Dallas-based Fountain Residential Partners, co-developer of the project, said the second, 430-bed phase should be complete the following year. The development, like other Specialized Real Estate projects, is being designed by Modus Studio of Fayetteville.

City staff approved a site plan for Phase I of Idyll Village earlier this month. The project did not require Planning Commission review, because it's located in a form-based zoning district outside of downtown.

Specialized Real Estate representatives said Idyll Village will feature 108 detached cottages and surface parking on 16 acres, unlike Sterling Frisco, where a single, five-story apartment building is wrapped around a parking garage on a much smaller site.

"This is for students who want to walk to campus but still have a neighborhood feel," Sarah King, marketing and community outreach coordinator for Specialized, said.

The complex will have 50-inch flat screen TVs in all of its units, a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse and fitness center and a lavish outdoor pool. Like other student housing projects, tenants will rent by the bedroom. All utilities will be included, and basic furniture will be provided. Select units will have a pool table and a wet bar overlooking the living room.

"This should be the nicest finish out in the market," said Seth Mims, partner and president at Specialized Real Estate Group.

The Tsa La Gi Trail that's under construction south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will cut through the property. The trail will give tenants at Idyll Village, The Vue, Hill Place and University House (formerly called The Domain) a new way to walk or bike to campus.

Mims would not disclose how much Specialized Real Estate and Fountain Residential Partners offered to pay the people who own the land where Idyll Village is planned. The complex will require tearing down several warehouses and industrial buildings; a storage facility; the Bunting Electric building; and the Les Rogers Excavating yard.

Mims said he's encouraged to see a Dunkin' Donuts store planned northwest of the site and a Whataburger franchise going in across King Boulevard where an E-Z Mart gasoline station used to be.

Trevor Tollett, vice president of Fountain Residential Partners, said being next to University House will only benefit Idyll Village.

"It's effectively 100 percent occupied," Tollett said. "That says a lot about this location and the market in general."

Fountain Residential Partners has opened or is building student housing projects near university campuses in Fort Worth, Texas, Corvallis, Ore., and Minneapolis, according to the company's website.

In addition to Idyll Village, Specialized Real Estate is planning to open Harvey's Hill, a 432-bed complex at Hill Avenue and Center Street, and a roughly 580-bed complex along Lafayette Street by fall 2016. Another 480-bed complex called The Cardinal is slated to open at Duncan Avenue and Center Street in August.

NW News on 03/18/2014