Spring Park will be at the heart of the future residential growth corridor and is opposite Catholic church-owned land where hundreds of homes, school and a church are planned.

It is 2.5km north of the Kinross Woolshed and will have “university” street names such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale to reflect the proximity of Charles Sturt University.

Graham Walker’s Combined Development Group (CDG) has a $15 million plan to develop 124 lots in stage, with roads and services for the first 55 lots now under way.

Sydney-based Mr Walker joined project manager Jeff Cummings yesterday to watch Eric Pietila’s Nordcon company prepare the cow paddocks for development.

Mr Pietila sold the 16ha on Table Top Road (formerly Old Sydney Road) to CDG this year in a deal brokered by Michael Everard’s ProCorp, which is handling marketing.

Prices start at $95,000 with an average of $120,000, and sizes range from 460sq m to 1800sq m, with 23 of the lots over 800sq m.

Mr Walker is an experienced NSW land developer who has held top management posts with Hooker, Costain and Boral and is a director of the Housing Industry Association.

He said Albury-Wodonga’s economy was such that the company thought it should go ahead with the estate now despite problems in the housing markets in the capital cities.

“Thurgoona is growing fast and people are looking for lots with a little more land so they can have swimming pools or tennis courts and feel they are in the country,’’ Mr Walker said.

“Spring Park was still close to Albury and potential buyers thought it was worth the few minutes extra driving time to be in this location,” he said.

Deposits have been paid on two lots and negotiations are taking place on six others.

Thurgoona residents Melanie and Scott Hewson are looking at moving to Spring Park to a lot of 800sq m or more.

ProCorp managing director Malcolm Hunt, whose company has been a driving force in the Mitchell Park estate, said Spring Park was receiving strong interest.