By Jeff McKinney
Enquirer staff writer

HEBRON - The region's largest home builder plans to build 111 homes in this booming Northern Kentucky community.

The Boone County Planning Commission has approved a site road for the development of single-family homes. That will allow a unit of the Drees Co. of Fort Mitchell to build a subdivision along Stahl Road.

The community, yet to be named, will include homes priced from $170,000 to $190,000 to target existing homeowners looking to buy their first newly constructed house, said Anne Mitchell, a Drees spokeswoman.

She said the development will be built in three phases: 38 homes in the first, 37 in the second and 36 in the third. Mitchell said construction of a model home for the development will begin in August, and the builder plans to start selling homes in November.

Boone County is the second-fastest growing county in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky over the past three years.

Boone's population surged 13 percent from April 2000 to July 2003, according to Census data. Only Warren County grew at a faster rate over that period, an increase of 14.7 percent.

"It's just a new community we're bringing on line because of growing demand for new homes in the Hebron market," she said. "We think that it will be a very popular community because of its location."

The site is 6.5 miles west of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and offers easy access to Interstate 275.

Several industrial business parks, small businesses and larger companies in that area also help support the demand for new housing, Mitchell says.

Large employers in Hebron include Delta Air Lines and the after-parts distribution center for Toyota Motor Sales.

"Given that, we expect sales to be very brisk," she said.

Homes in the community will be built by Marquis Homes, a unit of the Drees Co. The builder has not determined when the community will be finished.

The Drees Co. has agreed to buy the lots from Boulder Development Co. for an undisclosed amount.

Marquis also was prompted to build its latest community because of its success at Thornwilde, a 250-home community that opened in 1998 and is nearing completion, Mitchell said. Thornwilde is a mile north of the new site.

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E-mail jmckinney@enquirer.com