Oberer, a semi-custom home builder based in Miamisburg, is under contract to purchase the property north of East Hyde Road, east of U.S. Route 68 and west of Spillian Road. The lot was posted for sale in February for $1.89 million.
If the land is annexed and rezoned, the company plans to build about 88 single-family homes and another 50 duplex homes. Both kinds of properties will start at close to $300,000 for about 1,650 square-feet, said CEO George Oberer.
Oberer expects to begin construction by spring and have homes for sale beginning next summer.
Oberer said there is a demand for new housing in the village and one of its draws is the village’s school district.
“We’re excited to bring a new community to Yellow Springs,” he said. “We think Yellow Springs is starving for new housing. It’s a popular place to live, work and play. And this will be the first new housing in Yellow Springs in years.”
While there has been some development in recent years, said Village Council President Brian Housh, nothing on this scale. He said annexation is likely and that he is in favor of the mutually beneficial project.
A study commissioned by the village about two years ago found the village needed more housing across the board, from low-income to high-income. Housh said he hoped the village can work with Oberer Land Developers to carve out a portion of the development for lower-income housing.
The school system and the village-owned utilities have the capacity to support additional households, said Housh. Adding households helps the village’s and district’s finances, he said.
Yellow Springs is obligated to provide water and sewer access to the 52-acre property. After the current owners of the property, Kenneth and Betheen Struewing, sued the village to gain access, an Ohio appeals court ruled in the Struewings' favor.
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