The rental homes, to be built by Fischer Homes, will be 3-bedroom, 2-bath ranch homes on slab with 2-car attached garages, she said.
Plans for the project show the size of each is between 1,230 and 1,865 square feet. Rents would be between $2,600 and $3,300, which includes “all maintenance inside and outside,” she said.
The remaining 15-plus acres west of the site are part of the overall application, but not part of The Gables. That land will be used by a different property owner for organic farming and, for the bulk of it, unimproved wooded land area.
Mayeux, whose company is the applicant for the overall site, said a “unique aspect” of The Gables will be that the homes will be built to lease.
The typical resident for these homes will be empty nesters and seniors, Mayeux said. The South Dayton area has “a significant portion” of its population that is 65 and older, with that demographic projected to increase by 39% for the next five years, according to a study commissioned by the firm.
“They’re specifically designed to provide an easier and safer option for active seniors that allows ... a move into senior independent living,” Mayeux said. “A lot of the design features that we’re putting into them, it’s considered universal design, meaning it can accommodate it, so you wouldn’t notice it when you walk in a doorway.
“They’re just a little bit wider, the switches are a little bit lower, the outlets are a little bit higher, so that if you’re in a walker or wheelchair, it’s just easier and safer to navigate around. There’s no stairs in any of these units.”
The Gables, she said, will provide “a whole new concept for the Dayton area.”
“We’re really designing these homes to provide a new option for people, “It’s giving them a single family detached home that live like with the convenience of an apartment. So all the benefits of like having a yard and an attached garage and room for a home office, but they don’t have to deal with like the burden of the expense and time that’s involved with owning a home.”
Every unit has a flex room close to the front door aimed at accommodating those who work from home, she said.
“This benefits the owner by reducing maintenance and turn costs benefits the resident by delivering high end upgraded finishes and benefits the community by providing more aesthetically pleasing and durable structures,” Mayeux said. “Not only do they meet Energy Star requirements, they are built and designed to conservation standards well above other homes.”
The neighborhood is designed to provide “a strong sense of community and place” with outdoor walking trails, a dog park, private yards and green spaces that are all professionally maintained, she said.
Huber Real Estate Consulting manages more than 500 homes that are rentals that are considered build-to-rent communities. Mayeux said her grandfather built them in the 1940s and ‘50s.
“This whole build-for-rent or single-family rentals, it’s considered a new asset class of real estate at an institutional level, but we have done that for over 80 years,” she said.
The Gables was scheduled to be considered for recommendation by Washington Twp. Zoning Commission at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday.
Following the commission’s recommendation, township trustees would then vote on whether or not to grant the project final development plan process approval. If approved, that would allow for construction of the project’s first phase.
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