Commissioner Rob Rue talked of the need for different types of housing options in the city as well.
The project calls for the construction of at most 94 multi-family residential units on a 15.4 acre piece of land that has an address of 3641 Middle Urbana Road. The project developer, Redwood, said it would be a $13 million to $14 million investment for them.
Redwood had expressed interest in building in the area earlier this year.
According to zoning in that area, a development could submit a plan and get approved for up to 44 units per acre, said Stephen Thompson, the planning, zoning and code administrator for Springfield.
Redwood 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.
Gregory Thurman, the vice president of acquisitions for Redwood, said that the company’s developments consist of around 100 units each. In Springfield, the monthly rent for Redwood’s apartments would be in the range of $1,500 to $1,900.
Thurman said that the key demographics that his company’s developments tend to attract is young professionals or older residents, classified as “empty nesters.”
“There are plenty of renters by choice that would like an upscale single-story with an attached two car garage,” Thurman told the News-Sun.
“We have a very desirable growth pattern and when you have strong county seats, which Springfield definitely falls into the category of a strong county seat in Ohio, we have success,” he added.
A development plan for the project was recommended for approval by the city’s Planning Board in September.
City Commissioners were asked to discuss the proposed development plan during a public hearing in October. At that time, 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 last month that the development would simply be connecting to a public street.
City Manager Bryan Heck said that city staff have had conversations internally about traffic issues in the area. He added that city staff has met with Redwood.
Heck said that they believe that speedbumps would not be the solution to that problem..
Some of the apartments could be ready to rent in about a year, Thurman said.
Facts & Figures
94: Number of units in proposed new apartment complex
$1,500 - $1,900: Monthly rent for proposed apartments
$13M - $14M: Projected investment of the development
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