Melody Parks is expected to increase housing availability, but also to bring businesses like Target and Qdoba to the city, as well as more local businesses, Fontaine said. The development, at around 400 acres, could act as its own self-contained city.
“As we’ve approached this, what we’re really looking at is: How do we create a housing community and a lifestyle community that brings services to the people, brings healthcare out there, it brings restaurants and retail?” Fontaine said. “Somewhere that if I live there I could potentially walk out my front door with my spouse or kids, go down to the coffee shop or go down to the ice cream parlor at the end of the street, go to the parks districts around me — have a pedestrian feel to it but still feel very connected to the rest of the community."
Houses are being built by Arbor Homes and Fischer Homes, with Arbor having sold 14 houses so far, Fontaine said. The project is currently in Phase I, with the first 35 houses by Arbor Homes under construction, while Fischer Homes develops its first ones, Fontaine said. Fischer Homes will then move faster in future phases, he said.
“This is poised to make a massive impact, not necessarily on all those sitting here, [but] your kids, grandkids, the future residents of Springfield,” Fontaine said. “This is a project that’s being built for the next 50 years, not for the next five.”
With Springfield having been in the national spotlight, more eyes are on the city for various reasons, Fontaine said. He said this is advantageous to getting people interested in homes, especially with Springfield’s location and proximity to Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The project, named for the former Melody Cruise-In Theatre that was at the site, is being co-developed by Borror and Dillin Corp. The Greater Springfield Partnership and its Community Improvement Corporation are working with the businesses in a limited partnership called 40 Partners LLC.
The CIC owns around 200 of the 400 acres planned for the project and is selling those to 40 Partners as builders contract for residential lots, GSP said previously.
Fontaine said there will be ample green space and walking paths. The project pays homage to the Melody Parks Drive-In and the film industry with street names including Scorsese Street.
Residents will be members of a homeowner’s association, at first paying around $500 in fees until more houses are sold to bring the price down, Fontaine said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The project has been a source of controversy, particularly with the 15-year tax abatement being offered on each home. This means each homeowner will not have to pay property taxes for 15 years, which Clark-Shawnee Superintendent Brian Kuhn said presents a challenge for the school district when enrollment increases as families move in.
Fontaine said the school district will receive baseline taxes for revenues created from the project, although the reassessed tax valuations will be different once the development is completed.
Kuhn said in an ideal scenario, the district would get property taxes for each home. Although there won’t be a large increase of students all at once, it will still present a challenge and a need for the district to increase staff, he said.
Kuhn said the developer and the school district face the same challenge of getting enough up-front funding for projects, and tax abatements help the developer.
Clark-Shawnee is lobbying for legislative changes to prevent this kind of deal in the future, Kuhn said.
“We’re not against community growth and development; our challenge is when you place the burden of this growth and development on the community it’s designed to serve,” Kuhn said. “That’s where it becomes a tougher pill to swallow. How do we make it all work?”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Clark-Shawnee has filed two legal challenges, arguing oversight actions by Clark County government to remove members of the CEDA Regional Planning Commission retroactively and set aside a vote against part of the Melody Parks project were improper. It also argues one of the CEDA board members did not live in the district she represents at the time.
The first lawsuit follows an Oct. 5, 2023 meeting, in which CEDA board members voted down allocating a plot of land for Melody Parks 4-3. Then-chairperson Dan Kelly said at the time that he was unhappy that the Springfield Division of Police had not yet officially approved the project, though City Manager Bryan Heck said that Police Chief Allison Elliott approved of it despite the lack of official paperwork being submitted at the time.
When Clark County Development Director J. Alex Dietz asked the board to cite a section of code as the reason for the denial, Kelly said, “We all know why we voted no; now we can sit here and make up something if you want us to make up something for the sake of paperwork.”
The votes of Kelly and two other board members were declared null at a Nov. 8, 2023 emergency meeting, with Dietz saying that prior to the October vote, three board members had automatically vacated their seats due to missing three of six consecutive meetings. This brought the vote to 2-2, and the plat of land was approved by default when no further action was taken, Dietz said.
In their legal filing, Clark-Shawnee is still waiting on a ruling on a motion for summary judgment — the judge recused himself because the court reporter is a member of the school’s board. Clark Shawnee has opposed that recusal in a separate filing.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
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