Madisonville

Raiford Oaks is among the front runners in new home construction as signs of growth begin to emerge for the first time since 2007. This new subdivision is located off Brewster Rd. just east of Hwy 1085 in Madisonville and you can scarcely find anyone who has seen the property who doesn’t immediately comment on how beautiful a site it is.

This property has been in the Raiford family since before the Civil War. The land patent by which they took title was signed by Abraham Lincoln himself. Over the years, they had large herds of grazing animals that ranged from the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, as far north as Cranky Corner, and from the Tchefuncte to the Tangipahoa River and as they moved them from place to place it was described as looking like a cloud moving along the ground.

In an area rich with Civil War history, it was not uncommon for those living in the area to be host to soldiers on their property, no matter the sympathies of the landowners. The Raiford family was no exception, and Union soldiers camped under the canopy of live oaks, taking some of the Raifords’ livestock for food. Today, the land is still identified by that large stand of live oak trees which will form the centerpiece of the new development. All of the trees will be protected and preserved, leaving intact the natural beauty of the site and an important piece of local history. In order to capture the uniqueness of the property, the Raiford family and their partners enlisted the help of local architect Mike Piazza to establish design guidelines for future development and to design the first home to be built on site.

The Piazza architectural firm, based in Mandeville has been involved in designing homes throughout the Gulf South, the Caribbean and Mexico over the last 28 years. On a local level they have designed homes in Beau Chene, Tchefuncte Country Club, Greenleaves, Del Oaks, Old Mandeville, and in Old Covington. In a real coup for the North Shore, and unprecedented in the state of Louisiana, Piazza has been chosen to design the 2010 Southern Living Magazine “Idea House”, to be located in the new urban community of Terrabella.

The first home being built in Raiford Oaks is a reflection of Louisiana Country updated. The exterior style, from its lower pitch roofs, stable garage doors, simple forms and mixture of materials, uses a blend of brick and siding, with both shingle and metal roofing. The open floor plan allows the dining, family, kitchen and morning room to flow together and is accented by both front and rear covered porches. An entry courtyard with a fountain also adds to the separation of street to private spaces. The house and the development will showcase local influences rather than be a continuation of the same design themes seen in seemingly every subdivision. The contractor hired to build the first home that is currently under construction is Shuler Construction, LLC.

The owner, Chris Shuler, is a New Orleans native. In 1997 he moved to Nashville where he worked for a building supply company where it was mandatory that he educate himself in all types of building products. He sold those products to builders who built 300-500 homes a year. From them he learned construction efficiencies and when he decided to become a home builder himself, he knew how to build a top quality home, while saving the homeowner money. In 2009, Chris decided to move his construction business back home and met the developers of Raiford Oaks through a mutual business acquaintance and he was anxious for the chance to work on this project.