Pacesetter Homes, a Newport Beach builder, broke...

Pacesetter Homes, a Newport Beach builder, broke ground Friday on the first section of a $1-billion resort and residential project at Coto de Caza, the exclusive 5,000-acre development in the hills above Trabuco Canyon.

The $18-million first phase of the 10-year, 4,000-home project is scheduled to be finished in November. Pacesetter is building 77 single-family, detached homes, a spokeswoman for the project said. The homes will start at $175,000.

Two other local builders--Gfeller Development Co. of Tustin and J.M. Peters Co. of Newport Beach--are scheduled to break ground in the near future, the spokeswoman said. Other developers have not yet been named by Coto de Caza’s owners, Arvida Disney Corp.; Chevron Land & Development Co. and City Federal Savings & Loan Assn. of Boca Raton, Fla.

In addition to the new housing, two golf courses are being constructed--one scheduled to open in November and the other in the fall of 1987, the spokeswoman said.

The development already contains 232 homes, 22 condominiums, equestrian facilities, the Vic Braden Tennis College and the Coto Research and Conference Centers.

Although plans call for 4,000 homes, plus 2,258 acres of open space and parks, the county has zoned Coto de Caza for as many as 6,419 residential units.