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Opera House Square has new owners and new construction.

The square that is on the school district lot that is bordered by Harrington and Martin streets was originally sold to the City of Newberry by the Newberry County School District.

The city leaders then made an agreement with Davis and Floyd out of Greenwood to develop the property with houses.

The city secured the property with mortgages and an agreement that the houses would be built in a certain amount of time and the mortgages would be forgiven, said Newberry City Manager Jeff Shacker.

City leaders believed the houses would provid needed high-end properties and bring people downtown to live.

But soon Davis and Floyd got a contract to do the four lane Highway 17 road on the cost and sold the property to a couple who were not able to make a go of it, said Shacker.

The property was then sold to Sam Lovell who has in return sold it to West Development at the end of 2011.

Currently four houses have been built and three have been sold.

After numerous request, Misty West says her family businesses decided to build several patio homes on the site.

The first home will be complete in eight weeks and is about 1,200 square feet.

It will have the same architectural look as the other homes already built in opera house square, she said.

Additional homes will be built on McMorris and Calhoun street on the property, said Shacker.

For information about purchasing the homes contact West Development at 276-1884.