New Bern Sun Journal
October 19, 2021

A 270-acre, master-planned community less than 15 minutes from downtown New Bern has made considerable progress since re-launching in 2018 and has no plans to slow down.

In the last 12 to 18 months, millions of dollars worth of upgrades have gone into infrastructure, visual appeal, amenities and other improvements to accelerate growth, according to ownership.

Recognizable by its entrance with three sailboat masts, Tyler, Home on the Lake now has 200 D.R. Horton homes and another 222 developed homesites. On June 25, phase one of amenities was completed when the resort-style pool and cabana opened to the community.

“The best word I could use to describe Tyler is energetic. There are new neighbors moving in every week,” said Katie Fidler, communications manager for St. Bourke. “They are building not just a neighborhood or a subdivision, but are truly building a community, and to me that is the biggest thing that sticks out about Tyler compared to other master-planned communities.”

The development at 401 Louisia Mae Way was started in 2007 by Gene Dunn Construction Company, but was foreclosed on when the company went bankrupt in the 2008 crash. At that time, only 16 homes had been built.

In 2016, Drapac Capital Partners purchased the community and with St. Bourke, a development company, re-launched construction in 2018.

Though New Bern did not have the booming market it does now, Drapac focuses on investment in undervalued markets.

“The potential of New Bern’s housing market has always been there, even in 2016, when there wasn’t a lot of new construction activity. New Bern has great schools, really solid employment centers with the two armed force bases near there, so there were a lot of great market fundamentals,” Fidler said.

Lately at Tyler, Home on the Lake

Home sales have increased exponentially, from five a month in summer of 2019 to 14 a month in June through August 2021. This can be contributed to New Bern’s strong housing market as well as community improvements, like the pool.

Now monthly home sales are averaging at eight and only 21 are left on the market.

“Since re-launching the community in 2018, we’ve seen Tyler, Home on the Lake transform from a sad reminder of the 2008 housing market crash to a thriving community. Pent-up demand following the COVID pandemic has certainly accelerated price growth and sales, but we’ve also been working diligently, alongside landowner Drapac Capital Partners and homebuilding partner DR Horton, to deliver community upgrades that make Tyler an even more desirable place to live,” said Ben Simpson, president of St. Bourke. 

Available D.R. Horton homes in Tyler, which have seven possible floor plans, range in size from 1,500 to 2,824 square feet and start at $244,990 with some sales exceeding $300,000. They are mainly two story and all feature two car garages.

The community of Tyler does not have a target demographic and is seeing all types of buyers moving in, including first-time homebuyers, young families or retirees looking to downsize. Because of the range of plans and prices, Tyler can meet the needs of people in many different stages of life which really opens its doors to everybody, Fidler said.

At Tyler, Home on the Lake, emphasis is placed in living life outdoors.

Inspiring its name, the community sits around a 60-acre lake with a fountain at the forefront. There is a public dock and residents can enjoy the lake while fishing, kayaking or walking and biking the paved pathway around it.

The property itself is bordered by two and half miles of waterway, accessible to residents and has paved sidewalks throughout.

“In a lot of communities, amenities are the last thing to be built to insulate from risk and we’ve delivered arguably the most critical amenities—the pool and cabana—and the community is just over half built,” Fidler said.

The second phase of amenities could include nature trails, pocket parks, playgrounds and more activities or docks around the lake.

The property of Tyler, Home on the Lake includes a 33-acre tract of undeveloped land that is currently being examined for the best use that would add the most value to the community, said Andrew Galucki, St. Bourke portfolio director for the community.

Though the rest of the community is single-family, the developers are looking into the possibility of townhomes or multi-family housing on this tract.

In the coming year, ownership will continue to work on design and land planning for the next chapters of Tyler, Home on the Lake.

“We want to be one of a kind, that’s a testament to some of the thoughtful design that we put in as far as landscape and hardscape elements and really paying attention to detail as far as the final end product, particularly in the common elements of the community,” Galucki said