LAFAYETTE, CA—The New Home Company says it has acquired two- and one-half acres in the heart of Lafayette and has begun construction on Woodbury, a community of 36 new luxury flats and 20 condominiums.

Featuring private open space pockets and walking paths throughout, Woodbury represents a complete redevelopment of an underutilized parcel where an aging apartment complex and restaurant once stood, and which many in town considered a civic blight.

Model-home construction will begin in August, with a grand opening for the community anticipated in the first quarter of 2015.

“Woodbury represents a rare and special opportunity to create a unique, thoughtfully designed community in one of the Bay Area's most coveted locations,” said Charles McKeag, New Home's Walnut Creek-based regional vice president. “New Home is proud to add Woodbury to its growing portfolio of compelling new communities here in the Bay Area and throughout Northern California.”

Within walking distance of Lafayette's downtown shops, restaurants and BART station, the site is equally close to the Lafayette Reservoir, one of the area's most popular destinations for hiking, cycling and boating. In addition to the residences, New Home will build a public parkway—with trails, landscaping, benches and art features—on a vacant parcel owned by the East Bay Municipal Utility District.

The developer acquired the property from a group of local real estate investors who had a vision for building a new kind of home in Lafayette. The lead development team, comprised of Branagh Development and John French, are well known local developers and homebuilders in the market. Prior to joining forces with New Home, Branagh and French had spent eight years designing the project and securing land-use entitlements.

“When deciding on a partnership, New Home became the obvious choice. Our companies share the same values for quality and, like us, they make decisions based on 'what's right,'” said CEO Matt Branagh of Branagh Development. “Woodbury is a redevelopment that will make our partnership and the local community very proud.”

New Home is a next generation homebuilder focused on the design, construction and sale of innovative and consumer-driven homes in major metropolitan areas within select growth markets in California.