That work will be undertaken by Premier Property Sales, which was created two years ago and has built or has started building a total of around 20 homes in Springfield. The vast majority of those houses are single-family ranch-style homes that are not rental units.
Premier Property Sales recently built 10 homes, which nine have been sold for approximately $189,000 each, on Northern and McCreight avenues. That project wrapped up last year and is located near where the townhouses will be built, said the company’s president Clay Chester.
Chester said that the success of the new homes built last year as well as the need for more housing in Springfield prompted him to look at creating rental units nearby. His company is also working on a project to build five single-family ranch-style homes on Englewood and Northpoint roads.
That project is slated to wrap up in April and construction on the rental units on Winton Place and Rodgers Drive is slated to start shortly after, Chester said.
The townhouses that will be constructed will be a mix of two to three-bedrooms and will have a modern feel to them. He said the design of those rental units will be similar to the homes built on Northern and McCreight last year.
In addition to building new homes in the city, Chester said his other company Premier Property Rentals manages approximately 300 rental properties in the Springfield area.
Chester said that the demand and need for housing, especially new builds, as well as rental units in the city is high and has served as motivation for his recent construction projects.
Springfield has been in need of new housing for sometime and is a major priority for officials who say the community suffers from ageing housing stock. The area has seen an uptick in demand for new housing as new companies have invested in the city and created new jobs over the past five years.
City officials also say that there is a housing crisis in the community as there is also a lack of affordable and safe housing stock, especially for moderate to low income families.
“We have a need for all types of housing. It is important that we have those housing options in town,” Tom Franzen, the Springfield assistant city manager and director of Economic Development, previously told this news organization.
He added that new housing can keep residents from leaving the city as well as be used to attract new people
Springfield City Commissioners passed an ordinance last week that will rezone 0.68 acres of property at Winton Place and Rodgers Drive to a medium-density, single-family residence district. That new classification will allow for the project to build the townhouse rental units.
In addition to that, commissioners also passed an ordinance during the same public meeting last week that will allow for the start of the final phase of the 226 home development known as Bridgewater that is located near the Tuttle Road Walmart.
About the Author
