HARDEEVILLE -- The first major development of many that will push Hardeeville from a small to a large city got its public start Thursday.

Tradition, S.C., a 5,300-acre and 9,500-home development with $40 million in amenities, has its first 72 lots ready for construction. Builders' models should be completed by spring and the first residents will move in late fall 2007, Core Communities officials said.

The Florida-based developer of master-planned communities is building Tradition north of U.S. 278 and three miles east of Interstate 95.

Hardeeville city and other officials raved about the project at the ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday.

"You just know you have a site that you know will enhance the existing facilities (in Hardeeville)," said Brooks Willis, the city's mayor pro tem.

Hardeeville Mayor Rodney Cannon praised how well the county, city and developer worked together to plan Tradition. The city is in talks with developers for eight other large parcels of land, and the Tradition agreement provides a blueprint for future negotiations, Cannon said.

The first phase of Tradition will feature homes from the high $200,000s to roughly $950,000. About 200 people work on the site now, and that number will swell to more than 600 when construction begins on the homes, said Martin Sauls IV, director of public relations for Tradition.

Among the other properties to be developed in the future are: the Argent East tract, which will have more than 1,100 luxury homes; the 2,100-acre Morgan tract, capable of holding 6,700 homes; the 2,950-acre Anderson tract, capable of holding 5,000 homes; the 1,859-acre Karrh tract, capable of holding 2,300 homes; and the 6,000-acre Hardeeville tract, capable of holding 9,700 homes and ripe for light-industrial use.

Jasper County Council Vice Chairwoman Gladys Jones said working with Core Communities allowed the groups involved to set goals high in terms of what they will expect from future developers in terms of fees and cooperation.

Like previous Core Commun-ities projects near Port St. Lucie, Fla., the Hardeeville project fits a specific profile. It is just off of I-95 on a major road; the tract of land is large enough to build a community unto itself with the amenities residents will need, including 200 acres of retail space; and there is great natural beauty, said David Page, president of the company's South Carolina division.

State Rep. Thayer Rivers Jr., D-Ridgeland, summed up what development -- residential and commercial -- means to Jasper County.

"Because of the development of Hilton Head Island, my generation was able to stay in Jasper County and have a decent job and a decent home," Rivers said. "Now, thanks to Core Communities, our grandchildren will be able to stay in Jasper County and have a decent job and a decent home."