SPANISH FORT, Ala. — The Highlands of Spanish Fort, comprised of 11,076 acres, will be the largest planned unit development in Baldwin County to date, according to officials working close with the development.

The previous largest county project was around 3,000 acres, according to Baldwin County Planning Director Wayne Dyess. The Highlands of Spanish Fort will be the second biggest planned unit development for International Paper Realty said Project Director Brian Dangler. “The developers have proposed and have received approval for a 40-plus year development plan,” Building Official Bruce Renkert said.

Depending on market conditions, the project, over the next 30 to 40 years, could bring in a maximum of 65,000 residents, Dangler said. Though the bulk of The Highlands is residential, developers have made plans for other support services.

“It is a self contained development,” Renkert said. “We are the master developers.” International Paper sells property to neighborhood and commercial developers but does not do the actual building of houses or commercial centers, he said. Buyers have to purchase land from IP and are subject to strict design standards from IP. Plans have to be submitted to IP before being reviewed and approved by the planning commission of Spanish Fort, Dangler said.

With all the buzz around town about The Highlands of Spanish Fort, some people may be surprised to find out that there will be no gated communities in the massive development. “It’s all about community and livable community, so people actually know their neighbors,” Dangler said. “Smart Growth principles are epitomized by the Highlands plan.”

Smart Growth, an alternative to urban development, has three main themes: Conservation of natural resources, encouragement of compact and commercial mixed use development and walkable residential neighborhoods.

“We encourage the walkable communities, so we require every developer to have trail systems and sidewalks,” he said.

The biggest impact when comparing the development to just regular developments within a city would be the buffers, Dangler said. There are 40 ft. buffer zones around the perimeters of all tracts, a 50 ft. buffer along roads and a 20 ft. buffer away from all wetlands so that a lot cannot even be plotted there, he said.

“We encourage mixed use and commercial use, so it can be a live, work and play place,” Dangler said.

In addition to homes, there will be community and commercial centers, he said. Four sites are donated to the city for municipal services for emergency, police or fire services. There are nine institutional sites available for churches or other institutions.

Renkert said there were sites picked out for four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. IP Realty will donate 160 acres to the city for parks for recreation but every residential developer is required to create an equal share of parks within their development, Dangler said.

“It encourages active lifestyles,” Dangler said.

The 960 acres on Bay Minette Creek Greenway, which runs almost the entire length of the development, will be perpetually protected as a recreation area, Dangler said, since it is a wetlands and will have walking trails.

Three village centers are planned for the development, Renkert said. One will be at the intersection of Bromley Road and Jimmy Faulkner Drive. Another village center will be at County Road 39 and northwest of Stapleton which will include life support stores. The third village center will probably be along Hwy. 59 and County Road 32, two miles short of Bay Minette city limits, he said.

“This is just a way to plan for growth on a large scale level,” Dangler said.

There will be a maximum of 28,000 homes, Dangler said, including family units. A little over a thousand units will be built for multifamily purposes, including apartments and mixed use buildings, such as businesses on the bottom floor and apartments above.

There will be about l,062 rental type units, Renkert said. IP Realty encourages diversity of price points and living in the kind of community where you can live out your entire life, Dangler said.

For instance, some residents may choose to live in apartments and then move into a house, but staying in the same school district. Commercial development that satisfies the needs of the development will be encouraged, Dangler said.

Dangler said reducing the number of trips residents need to take out of the development will help curb the traffic load. Typically, commercial development will not be “big box,” but more of daily need type stores, he said.

Another key feature includes an extension of Jimmy Faulkner Blvd. to just south of Bay Minette on Hwy. 31 which will be called “The Highlands Trace Parkway.” It will be the main spine road though the development that will access all residential communities and cross Hwy. 39 and extend up to Hwy. 31, Dangler said. IP will start on the road when there is a need for it after someone buys a tract of land.

Dangler said this site was chosen based on the beautiful, rolling hills and the proximity of shopping areas and interstate.

“The city of Spanish Fort has a great reputation and International Paper Realty has confidence that the economy of the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay and Mobile is growing,” Dangler said.

Dangler said the city officials “have been tremendous to work with.”

The biggest PUD project for IP Realty to date is the Carolina Forest in Myrtle Beach, S.C. It is slightly bigger than the Highlands and was started 10 years ago and has really grown out, said Dangler. He said IP Realty has already closed on two sales for The Highlands of Spanish Fort, one for a five-acre commercial property and one 80-acre residential property. Development will probably start by the end of summer in 2008.

Renkert said city officials have seen the first of the proposed subdivisions in sketch form, which will be along the Jimmy Faulkner Boulevard before Bromley Road.