If approved by city commissioners, some units of the development project would be ready to rent by a year’s time, said Gregory Thurman, the vice president of acquisitions for Redwood.
The company builds and manages single-story apartment homes and has a number of developments in the Dayton area, including in cities such as Huber Heights and Fairborn.
Thurman said their projects range around 100 units each and in the Springfield market, those units would be available at a monthly rent of $1,500 to $1,900. He said that their key demographic is young professionals or older residents who are looking to rent by choice.
The plan to add an apartment development off of Middle Urbana Road was brought to the city of Springfield’s attention over the summer. A development plan was recommended for approved by the city’s Planning Board in September.
City Commissioners were asked to discuss the proposed development plan during a public hearing on Tuesday.
Thurman said that his company has selected Springfield as a location for its next development project as Redwood looks to expand its presence in different counites. He said that they usually look at counties that have strong county seats, since the latter tends to be more populated.
“There are plenty of renters by choice that would like an upscale single-story with an attached two car garage,” he told the News-Sun.
However, the project’s development plan must first be approved by city commissioners in order to move forward, said Stephen Thompson, the planning, zoning and code administrator for Springfield.
He said Tuesday evening was the first time the proposal was in front of the commission and a vote is expected to be taken during the next commission meeting on Nov. 2.
During the commission meeting this week, several residents who live in the area shared concerns with commissioners that the development would bring more traffic to the area and could create a speeding problem.
The development would create a public roadway that would connect it to Kingsgate Road. That roadway would serve as the single entry point for the apartments.
Thurman said that the development is simply connecting to a public street and that the speed limit in the development would be 10 miles-per-hour. He said that their key demographic would not bring major traffic to the area.
Thompson said the hope is that concerns that were brought up related to creating 94 additional residential units in the area could be worked out in order to lead to a successful project.
Tom Franzen, the director of economic development for Springfield, said that type of project fits into the city’s efforts to bring more new housing in the area. He said their goal is to have projects that attract a number of different types of homebuyers and renters.
Thompson said if the development plan is not approved by city commissioners it would go back to the planning board or a new proposal would have to be presented.
By the numbers:
94 - Number of residential units that would be created as part of the project
$1,500 to $1,900 - The average monthly rent for those units once completed
15.4 - Acres of land that would be developed as part of the project
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