13 October . 2025
1,900-home community near Raleigh will have loads of amenities
This story was originally published by the Triangle Business Journal.
Kayli Thomas
The development team that created Wendell Falls is bringing a new master-planned community to eastern Wake County. Brookfield Residential and North America Sekisui House LLC have started construction on Ponder, a community along Highway 97 halfway between Wendell and Zebulon. Ponder will be on 480 acres and is entitled for 1,930 single-family homes and townhomes.
While site work has started and homebuilders have been selected, the companies are still in the initial design phase for the homes. Tanya Matzen, senior vice president of Brookfield Residential, said the homes will likely range from two to five bedrooms and pricing will probably run from $300,000 to $900,000.
The enormous project adds to the sizzling growth in eastern Wake County, which has seen a flood of homebuilding in recent years. The Wendell area has been one of the most attractive places in the Triangle for homebuyers.
Matzen said the first homes and all amenities will be complete in late 2026. Presales for the homes will start in summer 2026.
Brookfield acquired the property in April 2024 for $26 million. The community will be on parcels at 1832, 2040 and 2103 Peach Grove Lane, 1412 Marshburn Road and 2309 N.C. Highway 97.
This is the third joint venture community between the two companies in the Triangle. The first two are Briar Chapel and Wendell Falls. Brookfield Properties will manage Ponder. The theme of Ponder will focus on nature, particularly the design of the homes and amenities offered. There will be 120 acres of parks and open space with 2.5 miles of public greenway, a community lake, fishing pond and river.
The main amenity house will be on 5 acres next to the lake and will have a gathering room, fitness center and outdoor fireplace. The 5,300-square-foot building will also feature a 1,900-square-foot wraparound porch.
Other amenities for the community include a pool, pickleball courts, campsites, a kayak launch, yoga lawn, fire pit, bike racks, golf cart parking and a concert/gathering lawn with stage.
Brookfield Residential chose the nature theme in part because of the topography and natural features of the area.
“This land was in the same family for 250 years. ... I run into community members all the time and everyone has a story about this piece of land," Matzen said. “The land itself holds a lot of history. Through all those stories, we started to investigate how we could activate those timeless traditions that existed prior to our ownership."We want to do right by the land’s history and pay respect to that, but also bring it forward; that it's going to be a neighborhood that's crafted for today, but pay respect to the memories of the past," Matzen said.
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