FAIRHOPE, AL — The developer of a fictional 286-home subdivision promised Monday that the project will maintain Fairhope’s small-town character by naming every street after something bulldozed to build it.

The plan includes Old Barn Way, Cow Pasture Loop, Pecan Grove Court and Quiet Country Road, a six-lane entrance boulevard expected to carry most of the subdivision’s morning traffic.

“We take preservation seriously,” said imaginary developer Clay Cleared. “That is why nothing will be forgotten until after it has been removed, graded and converted into tasteful signage.”

The project’s entrance monument will feature reclaimed-looking brick manufactured last month and a metal silhouette of a barn that stood on the site until Tuesday.

Character preserved alphabetically

Marketing materials describe the neighborhood as “rooted in authentic coastal tradition,” citing street names selected from an inventory of former site conditions.

Prospective buyers may choose homes on Tractor Shed Trace, Two-Lane Terrace or Former Creek Crossing.

Lots along Heritage Oak Drive carry a premium because the heritage oak was visible from them before it was determined to interfere with Lot 42.

“You cannot recreate history,” Cleared said. “But you can put it in a serif typeface and illuminate it from below.”

The development will also preserve 14 percent of the site as open space, including entrance landscaping, drainage areas and a triangular patch behind the model home where construction equipment could not turn around.

One mature tree will remain near the clubhouse as a representative sample.

Rural living, urban delivery schedule

The subdivision’s homes will offer modern farmhouse architecture with optional shutters, decorative beams and front porches positioned close enough to the garage for residents to wave while entering their vehicles.

Amenities include a resort-style pool called The Old Swimming Hole, though no swimming hole previously existed there.

The original pond did exist, but it will be filled and commemorated by Pond View Place.

Residents questioned whether naming roads after erased features truly preserves small-town character.

Project consultant Marnie Heritage said character is not a physical resource and therefore cannot technically be cleared.

“Character lives in names, color palettes and the feeling you get when a monument suggests something important happened nearby,” she said. “The land is simply where the houses go.”

A complete record of what is missing

At a fictional public hearing, commissioners requested a more detailed preservation plan. The developer responded with 11 additional street names and agreed to install a bronze plaque listing everything removed during construction.

The plaque will stand on Memory Lane, directly over the former creek bed.

Traffic concerns will be addressed by Farm-to-Market Parkway, named for a road pattern the development will make impossible.

Drainage will flow toward Wetland Way, which no longer requires the wetland portion of its name.

Commissioners praised the revised plan for balancing growth with a clear record of what the growth replaced.

The project was approved after Cleared agreed that any future phase would continue the tradition.

Possible names include Last Remaining Field Boulevard, Unobstructed Sunset Circle and We Thought That Tree Was Staying Court.

At press time, the developer announced that Small-Town Character would be available as one of six approved exterior paint colors.