Come tour first Southern Living homes at Old Town

Southern Living-certified homebuilders have been working steadily at the Old Town mixed-use community in north Columbus since the spring, and they now are ready to show off the fruits of their labor.

The Woodruff Co., the Columbus-based development and property management firm that is pulling together the 300-acre project, will be showcasing a half-dozen homes for four consecutive weekends, starting today.

Tours of three furnished homes and three others that have been completed but are empty will be offered for a nominal fee of $10 per person. The kicker is the fee will not only get you through the doors, but also will offer a variety of fun and interesting activities, while also helping great causes.

"Part of 'Southern Living Inspired Communities' is that when you do these showcases of homes, you have a charity to which money from the tickets goes to," said Cathy Young, vice president of marketing and corporate business development at Woodruff.

The tour of homes will raise funds for the American Heart Association (Oct. 16-18), the American Cancer Society (Oct. 23-25), PAWS Humane (Oct. 30-Nov. 1) and the Fisher House Foundation (Nov. 6-8), the latter an organization that assists military families.

"On the American Cancer Society weekend, we've

got a girl we're honoring," Young said. "She's kind of the face and spokesperson for the American Cancer Society locally. Her name is Isabelle Fussell. She had cancer when she was about 2 years old and she is now 8 and is a beautiful child. So she is a success story of what the American Cancer Society stands for and does as far as money for research."

Southern Living itself is a lifestyle magazine that will celebrate its 50th birthday next year.

The monthly publication is well known for its content focused on Southern culture, including home and garden plans, recipes and travel destinations across the South.

It hand-picks and puts its stamp of approval on select neighborhoods and homebuilders.

Old Town, located near the intersection of Veterans Parkway and Williams Road in north Columbus, is among the chosen few.

Its three Southern Living-certified builders are CPJ Custom Homes, Leary & Brown, and Woodruff Contracting Co.

While those construction companies and their work will be the main attraction of sorts at Old Town during the monthlong showcase, the accompanying activities along Main Street and around the town square will be the icing on the cake for those local residents who decide to venture into the development during the event weekends.

The fun will include horse and carriage rides, a photo booth, face painting, corn hole games, giveaways, a unicorn ride and various treats, including Juice Bar samples.

A special Crossfit workout is planned Nov. 7. Even simpler activities will include walking the Old Town streets, hopping on swings and seesaws and playing hopscotch.

"For the PAWS weekend, which is right at Halloween, there will be a dog parade, a costume parade for the dogs or other animals people may have," said Wendy Elliott, vice president of Woodruff Brokerage Co., which is marketing the Southern Living homes.

Though in the discussion and planning stages for a couple of decades, the Woodruff Co. began construction on Old Town in 2013, with a long-term plan of building single-family homes, apartments and retail space around an old-fashioned town square.

The property once was part of an old family farm where Columbus native and Maryland investment firm executive Calvin Koonce grew up.

He's the son and eldest of three children of the late Burns Koonce who, with wife, Virginia, purchased 149 acres in the area in 1950.

Additional land purchases by Calvin Koonce in recent years brought the total to about 300 acres.

Long-term elements of Old Town include about 50 acres of commercial space across from the property and fronting Veterans Parkway.

Woodruff Co. executives have said the possibilities include a supermarket, restaurants and small businesses such as an ice cream shop, a dentist, veterinarian and hair salon.

"We've got several leases out for proposals, and we're trying to time it all so they all open together at the same time," said Elliott, noting a pediatrician is among those wanting to locate on Old Town's Main Street. "We're going to have some (service-type) businesses on Main Street and not just pure retail."

The current showcase will feature the first phase of Southern Living-inspired homes, with the company anticipating development of more than 250 homes over the next decade or so.

Hours for the tour of homes and activities over the next four weekends are 10 a.m.-3 p.m. each Friday and Saturday, and 1-4 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets can be purchased at www.oldtowntourofhomes.eventbrite.com.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Come tour first Southern Living homes at Old Town ."