| Wednesday, March 10, 2004 Building them bigger in Fayette Home under construction on Gingercake to top 15,000 sq. ft. By JOHN THOMPSON It’s so big, it’s almost causing traffic to come to a grinding halt on Gingercake Road. The huge house rising like a sentinel over the Woodfield Estates subdivision is big by Fayette County standards, but not the biggest. That honor goes to Evander Holyfield’s house in the northern part of the county. But the 15,165-square-foot home being built by Nile Incorporated’s Martin and Julia Olagebi looks more imposing because it’s being built on a two-acre site near Fayetteville instead of out in the country near Brooks. “I know there are at least six houses near Brooks that are at least 12,000 square feet,” said Fayette County Building Permit Director David Mundt. The house on Gingercake features 15 rooms, eight baths and five fireplaces, according to the building permit filed with the county. The house also has a full basement, a sunroom and a deck. Mundt said the estimated construction cost of the home is $300,000, which only includes materials, and not labor or land cost. Martin Olagbegi, who is listed on the building permit as the owner, preferred not to talk about the house and would only say that the house is a “spec” house, but has an owner. He did say the house should be completed in four to five months. Olagbegi’s general contracting company is located in Jonesboro and is on Fulton County’s Web site in the minority-female business directory. Building big houses not only has huge construction costs, but also large permit fees. The initial building permit for the home was $2,578 and the county has already been out to the house for 18 inspections. Recall inspections start at $25, and $50 is charge if the area is not ready for inspection. “With these larger homes, we have to inspect them in the phases they are built,” said Fayette’s acting zoning administrator Chris Venice. The county’s building inspectors are becoming experts at dealing with bigger houses. Mundt said the average Fayette County house was about 1,700 sq. ft. in the 1980s, but now approaches 3,000 sq. ft. In 2003, according to the National Association of Home Builders, the U.S. average home size was 2,272 square feet.
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