New community

The first of what could be many, many families could begin moving into a new community in far north Odessa this month.

Betenbough Homes of Lubbock has a 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony today for its model home in the new North Park community at 603 Cabrito Drive, near Barbara Jordan Elementary.

The first phase of the development will have 35 home sites, company co-owner Ron Betenbough said. So far, 18 of the homes, in various stages of construction, have sold, with the first expected to be occupied this month.

This is Betenbough's first project in Odessa, but it's also working on the Park Place development in Midland.

Setting up shop in booming Odessa-Midland was a natural move after a slight cooling of the market in Lubbock, where the company typically builds 25 to 30 percent of the new homes, Betenbough said.

"It's a couple hours away and easy to get to," he said of Odessa. "It feels like home. This is a place people speak our language, so to speak."

The second phase of the development should be ready for some families to move into by the end of the year, Betenbough said. That will include 180 lots, 130 built by Betenbough and 50 by Whitehead Construction.

Along with developer Virgil Trower, Whitehead is partnering with Betenbough on the project. Eventually, owner Gray Whitehead said the development would have around 700 homes.

"It's a large, large project," he said. "It's a little bigger than what I wanted to do by myself."

Many of the homes in North Park will fall under the $170,000 city-determined definition of workforce housing.

Some homes will go for as much as $220,000.

Of the original 35 homes, Betenbough said 25 would fall under $170,000. The three-to-four bedroom homes range in size from 1,800 to 2,700 square feet.

In the next phase, Whitehead said homes would go for as little as $120,000.

"We're targeting a market that's not a real high-dollar market," he said. "We want to get homes down affordable for people. That's not easy to do."

Betenbough constructs walls and roof trusses at a factory in Big Spring and transports them to the site, Betenbough said. This saves on construction time and waste.

"It doesn't take long, so they don't sit around in the weather," he said.

Betenbough describes the company as a faith-based, employee-owned operation. Through its ministry, it funds a number of Christian and community organizations in Lubbock. He said to expect that in Odessa.

"We give back to the communities in which we build," he said. "We come to town humbly. We're not coming to town arrogantly."

Troy Scott, who heads Betenbough's projects in Odessa and Midland, said he left a job with Best Buy to work with Betenbough after the company built his home in Lubbock.

"I loved the experience of building a home with Betenbough," he said. "They're a Christian organization, I love what they stood for. I wanted to give the customers the same experience I had."