Developer wants to build 1,200 housing units in Springfield

Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck talks about the proposed housing development that would bring hundreds of  new homes to the site of the old Melody Drive-In and the surrounding area Wednesday, March 30, 2022. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

Credit: Bill Lackey

Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck talks about the proposed housing development that would bring hundreds of new homes to the site of the old Melody Drive-In and the surrounding area Wednesday, March 30, 2022. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

A Columbus-area developer is proposing to build more than 1,200 housing units in Springfield on a tract of land that includes a former drive-in theater just east of the city.

If approved, the project would be the largest single housing development in the area in decades, Springfield officials said Wednesday. It would include a mixture of single-family, multi-family and patio homes on about 247 acres at 4025 E. National Road. The Developer, Borror property management company, has submitted a request to the city to annex the land from Springfield Twp.

The former next edge development site, owned by the Community Improvement Corporation of Springfield and Clark County, will also be part of the project.

ajc.com

icon to expand image
icon to close expanded image

Commissioners held the first reading of the annexation proposal Monday evening, and they’re expected to vote on it April 12.

The project will be completed in five phases, according to documents Borror submitted to the city. It’s not clear at this time how long each phase will take to complete. But the plan is for the developer to begin site work this year and start the first phase, said Tom Franzen, Springfield’s assistant city manager and director of economic development.

Borror has not said how much the project will cost or when all five phases will be complete. Borror officials said that they could not share those details as the project could change and that its zoning request is still waiting approval by the city.

The project calls for the construction of 737 single-family homes, 375 multi-family homes and 146 patio-style homes for a total of 1,258 housing units, according to the development application. In addition, 64.7 acres will be zoned for commercial use.

The proposal is the latest of several large housing developments that are either being built or have been proposed in the Springfield area in recent months. The others include the Bridgewater Development, which is expected to wrap up this fall and bring a total of 226 new homes near the Tuttle Road Walmart. That project was split in four phases and single-family houses are being built once lots are purchases by homeowners.

Prior to Bridgewater, there had not been a new major housing development in Springfield since the early 1990s.

Home sales at the development have been strong, and the developer for that project, DDC Management, is looking to build 258 new homes in a separate development along East Leffel Lane and South Burnett Road.

The new development, called Sycamore Ridge, will be built in phases and construction will be spread out over a several year project that is expected to wrap up in 2026.

New jobs in the area the past decades, the success of Bridgewater as well as another project to build new townhomes in downtown Springfield has led to the area becoming more attractive to new housing investments.

“We have a need for all types of housing. It is important that we have those housing options in town,” Franzen previously said.

About the Author