VIDALIA — The folks at the end of Bill Johnson Drive could be getting a lot of new neighbors in the next couple of years.

Local businessman Bradley Harrison said Camo Construction is finishing developing lots this week that will eventually become a new subdivision named The Glades.

The decision to develop the property was made when he considered the opportunity it presented, Harrison said.

“Where Bill Johnson Drive ends was a corn field that someone started to develop, and they put in the infrastructure, but then they went bankrupt and it never got done,” he said.

So Harrison decided to take the work that was already done and complete it as a 15-lot development that will have Walmart, the new recreation complex and Vidalia High School all within walking distance.

“Vidalia needs houses,” Harrison said. “People like Vidalia, they like the school system, but there are no houses.”

Local leaders have in recent months cited the lack of housing in Vidalia as a sign of growth but also as a hindrance to future growth.

“We are excited about this project,” Mayor Hyram Copeland said. “It is the first subdivision we have had in a few years.

“I think this is the beginning of the end of our housing shortage here.”

Harrison said the 75 by 150 lots are already being pre-sold at a starting price of $36,000.

“If somebody wants to buy the lot and wants somebody to build a house, we can build it for them, but that’s not a requirement,” Harrison said.

The houses built in the subdivision should be in the $180,000 to $240,000 range, though that would ultimately depend on the owner, Harrison said.