HUNTINGTON -- Colleen and George Parnicza like their home mostly because they're outside the city, but not really.
Twelve years ago, they built the first house in Pleasant Valley Estates. The retirees live within Huntington city limits, but have a much more suburban feel in the still growing housing development just off W.Va. 152, near the Cabell-Wayne county line.
"I like having city water, and there's a fire hydrant right outside, which is good," Colleen Parnicza said. "I like having city police protection."
Meanwhile, they have a nice view, but easy access to the interstate, which is about a mile away.
These are some of the traits that Larry Ellis hopes will draw others to the upscale subdivision, most of which lies in Cabell County, with a small slice in Wayne County.
Ellis is an architect who owns the 106-acre site and has designed some of the homes there.
The 75-home development is being built in three phases, with Phases A and B already sold out. Forty-seven of the 55 lots in Phase C are still available in the lush, hilly area. They range in size from less than half an acre to more than three acres. Streets already have been paved and the infrastructure finished, complete with drainage systems.
Ellis touts its city services and proximity to the interstate and airport, while offering hilltop views that show West Virginia's rugged greenery.
From the stories he hears, many people who relocate to the region have trouble finding older homes that suit all their needs, Ellis said.
"There have to be some people who do (find older homes they like) because most of those houses are full," he said. "But people who want something different can come up here and buy a house."
Ellis has been an architect for 30 years and has either designed or renovated local landmarks such as the Renaissance Center in the old Huntington High building, the Huntington YMCA on 10th Avenue, Ceredo City Hall and Huntington Medical Plaza.
While he's done the architecture on some of the houses in Pleasant Valley Estates, some homeowners have used other house plans or hired other architects.
The Parniczas hired Ellis. It was the first house they'd ever had built, and he was a lot of help, Colleen Parnicza said.
They had searched for the perfect house for 10 years before deciding to move into the development, she said.
Denny Laube and his wife, Jodee Philo, were hoping to move into their new house in the development this weekend. They moved to the area recently from Findlay, Ohio, when Philo was transferred with Marathon Petroleum.
After looking around, they too decided building a house would be the best way to go, and they liked the location, said Laube, who has been the general contractor on their project. It's not like northwest Ohio, where new subdivisions are plentiful and you just pick a house with the right color cabinets, he said.
At their newly built house here, "We have a fantastic view, and that's why we chose this lot," he said. "We've got some huge rear windows, and it's all glass on the back. Actually, I would have loved to come down here and find nice flat ground, but they say that if there's flat ground here, it floods."
Another plus in Pleasant Valley Estates is the sense of community, he said.
"When I was nosing around, I met a few of the neighbors," Denny Laube said. "I really like the neighbors. We look out for one another and get along. ... It just reminds me of the way things were years ago."
For more information about Pleasant Valley Estates, contact Ellis Architecture at (304) 523-6138.
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