HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- West Huntsville's bustling

neighborhood is set to grow again, and plans call for more than tripling the number of single-family homes.

Providence developers David and Todd Slyman recently unveiled plans for 460 new homesites in what is now a wooded area between Indian Creek and U.S. 72 W., just south of the current residential development.

The city Planning Commission approved the layout of the first 49 lots last week. The Slyman brothers hope to hire a contractor soon to begin clearing trees, paving streets and running utilities.

"We'd like to get started in the next 30 to 45 days," Todd Slyman said Tuesday.

Founded in late 2003, the mixed-use neighborhood also includes several restaurants, retail shops, offices, a Homewood Suites hotel and 42 high-end condos.

A $9 million SpringHill Suites hotel opened two weeks ago on Providence Main Street.

Slyman said the neighborhood now has about 200 residential lots on the north side of Indian Creek, nearly all of which are already occupied or sold.

"Demand is calling on us to develop new homesites," he said. "We've kind of developed as the market has called for it, and now is the time."

Don't look for any radical changes in the formula, which emphasizes a denser, walkable neighborhood. The new houses will be a blend of sizes and architectural styles priced from the upper $200,000s to "wherever you want to go," said Slyman. Some homes will be perched on a wooded bluff above Indian Creek.

Construction is expected to begin by next summer, but Slyman said it will take several years to fully develop the property.

When the Slymans donated the land for Providence School in 2004, the city agreed to put in a $900,000 bridge over Indian Creek. Until now, it has dead-ended at the undeveloped side of the creek.

Several other projects are also steaming toward completion in Providence.

Slyman said the 226-unit Providence Place apartments are on track to be ready by late next spring or early summer. About 40 apartments have already been pre-leased.

US Diagnostics is building a 20,000-square-foot corporate office in Providence, and work will begin soon on a two-story office building next to Phuket Thai Restaurant. A defense contractor and chiropractor will be among the tenants, said Slyman.

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