DOUGLAS - When Ron McNare and his partners in K&R Construction proposed a new subdivision here, they never imagined it would fill so fast.

The vacant hay fields off Brownfield Road, at the outskirts of town, would be developed in several phases, with K&R constructing a few demo homes, then building to suit. Phase one, with 40 lots, opened earlier this year.

"We kind of were shooting for 12 lots sold the first year - and we're at 19 now," McNare said.

The success of the West Plains subdivision echoes a refrain commonly heard here these days: Housing is "booming," with rentals hard to find and new homes sprouting up in every section of the city.

The city is up 400 percent over last year in new residential building permits, with almost 50 compared to 14 in 2004. But in Douglas, the "boom" is a bit different n and much slower n than in other Wyoming communities.

Converse Area New Development Organization Director Joe Coyne doesn't like the term "boom," instead referring to the growth as a "sustained strong growth cycle," the result of good infrastructure planning on the city's part.

"This community has seen quite a few booms and busts since it began," Coyne said. "Developers are rightfully cautious in developing new subdivisions and building new homes. But I think we are finally at a strong, sustainable growth mode, where even the cautious builders are saying we can profitably build homes."

Continued growth in several economic areas, notably the coal mines and the railroads, is bringing in new families with wages that can support healthy families, Coyne said.

Newcomers appear to be coming to stay, bringing their families and buying homes. In West Plains subdivision, the 19 lots sold this year went to people from Phoenix and Casper, to local retirees and to longtime residents "upgrading," McNare said. Their occupations are as varied, although the energy industry is a strong current - an oil field worker, coal miner, power plant lineman, railroader, Kinder Morgan employee, hospital employee, banker and locomotive builder are among the new homeowners.

Recalling the boom years of the 1970s and 1980s, McNare said the mix of occupations is a "real good thing" for Douglas.

Contractors across town are busy. More homes are going up at the golf course, near the high school, in the hilly Riverbend neighborhood and along the North Platte River, to name a few of the more active locations. McNare and his partners are developing another 31 lots at the north end of town, hoping to target a different population by allowing modulars on permanent foundations. Other contractors are renovating old homes or razing dilapidated structures and building fresh.

Part of the drive for new homes may come from a tight rental market and limited options in existing homes, city Community Development Director Mike Roy said. Rental vacancy is between 4 and 5 percent in Douglas, which is also true for most of the northeast part of the state.

And, there's room for more - almost 500 spaces designated for residential homes, 50 for residential duplexes, and 73 for apartments, Roy said. He and Coyne, however, anticipate new subdivision work to taper off as construction, material and labor costs continue to rise nationwide. Instead, Roy expects to see the few remaining empty lots in existing neighborhoods sprout new homes.

"We are seeing a lot of vacant lots that are located in established neighborhoods get filled in," Coyne said. "That is smart, good development."