“There’s not really a lot of lifestyle product up in that corridor and that area, so we really think there’s an opportunity there,” said Lance Oakes, with Oakes Tree Development, which is behind the latest project. “Lifestyle housing” refers to ranch-style houses with amenities focusing on older buyers.
This newest project is proposed on 46 acres of land located northeast of the intersection of Needmore Road and Old Troy Pike.
Oakes shared some of the details of his plan with the city of Dayton Plan Board this week. The developer expects to ask the board to rezone the vacant farm land from light industrial to suburban residential use and approve a new planned development, said Jeff Green, a city of Dayton planner. That could come in early 2022.
The land is right on the city border, Green said, and Oakes wants to build dozens of new homes on 31 acres of adjacent farm land to the east, in Riverside.
“This is just one half of the coin,” Green said.
Oakes Tree Development expects to partner with Ryan Homes on the project.
One-story, single-family “lifestyle” homes likely will be very popular in this area, said Steven McConnaughey, with Ryan Homes. He said the proposed ranch-style homes range in size from 1,200 square feet to nearly 1,800 square feet, and could start at about $250,000.
The homes will have cottage-style elevation, shake siding, decorative trim, masonry and two-car garages, McConnaughey said. Most homes will have three bedrooms and patio and covered deck options.
“They are great looking houses, with the different rooflines,” he said. “We are currently building the same product — the same homes — up in Huber Heights ... in Carriage Trails.”
McConnaughey said these homes likely will attract buyers like empty-nesters and residents who want to age in place and who prefer smaller lots that have less maintenance.
“We want the buyers to have a sense of community,” McConnaughey said.
A conceptual site plan also shows 7 acres of open space, or about 16% of the total site, including a dog park.
Other amenities could include new street trees, sidewalks and entryway water features, like a retention pond with fountain.
Oakes proposes lots that are 52 feet wide, but regulations for suburban residential developments require 60-foot widths, Dayton city staff said.
Dayton Plan Board member Jeff Payne said he worries different lot widths in Dayton and Riverside means it will not feel like a seamless development.
“I have no problem with it being residential, but I do have concerns about the inconsistency, even if it’s just eight feet,” he said.
Ann Schenking, a plan board member, said a “poorly conceived” industrial project was proposed for this property years ago, and she supports the proposed residential use.
“I think this is a product that is needed in this place,” she said.
She later added, “When I was in the planning department, every time we had conversations with people about housing — we need more housing, what kind of housing do you want — they were talking about a product like this.”
Another member of the board said the smaller lot widths translates into more homes and more people living in Dayton, which is desirable.
Bigger is not always better, and aging residents may prefer more compact lots that are easier to maintain, said Todd Kinskey, Dayton’s director of planning, neighborhoods and development.
The northeast section of the city has attracted significant interest from new home developers and builders.
Oberer Land Developers has been working to construct more than 250 new homes on vacant land on the 4400 block of Old Troy Pike, located southwest of the Old Troy Pike and Needmore Road intersection.
Those homes could have two to five bedrooms and range in size from 1,250 to 2,300 square feet.
Also, developer Thomas Cahalan has a proposed a new subdivision called Cherrywood with 40 new homes that he says has nothing like a “cookie-cutter” layout.
That 11-acre project site at 5259 Kitridge Road in the Pheasant Hill neighborhood is just a few miles away from the Oakes property.
About the Author
