By the numbers
$4.5 million -$5.5 million: Construction cost for new Derby Glen Village housing development.
22: Ranch-style homes to be built in the new development.
3 years: Estimated time to finish housing development along Roscommon.
A $4.5 million to $5.5 million housing development in an upscale neighborhood could begin construction next spring, a sign the housing market in Springfield is slowly improving.
The 6.6-acre Derby Glen Village development could bring 22 new homes to the area between Windy Knoll Golf Course and Prestwick Village on the corner of Roscommon Drive and Braytonbourne Drive.
Construction is expected to begin this fall with a few homes available next spring if everything goes according to plan, said Craig Crossley, builder/developer with Crosstowne Properties.
A public hearing was held at Tuesday’s Springfield city commission to discuss a requested rezoning of the development. Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the rezoning in two weeks.
Crossley said he expects the development to take three years to complete.
Crosstowne has experienced more sales than they have in a long time, Crossley said, and the housing has improved slowly in each year of the past three years.
The key, he said, is giving the customer the best value you can — because if you don’t, they’ll find it somewhere else.
“It’s a slow pull, gradually getting better and better,” Crossley said. “The housing market, outright, is better than it was a year ago. How much better, however, is going to take some time to prove.”
Kent Sherry, executive director of the Building Industry Association of Clark County, said he’s happy to see new development coming to both the city and the county.
“It’s certainly good to see someone willing to take that risk,” Sherry said.
Sherry, however, said the housing market in Springfield is still slow in rebounding. He estimated there have been less than 40 permits for new homes issued throughout the city and the county. Most of the new construction in the city has recently been by Habitat for Humanity.
So most developers are staying busy with remodeling projects.
“That seems to be the trend,” Sherry said.
Crossley previously developed nearby Prestwick Village, a 44-home condominium project, in 2001. He said the project attracted lots of baby boomers.
“It was well-received and very successful,” Crossley said. “We met a need in town that offered folks one-story, maintenance-free living at an affordable price in a great location.”
Crossley, who’s worked in Springfield since 1974, said after building condos in different forms around Dayton in the past 10 years, he decided to take on a similar project across the street from Prestwick Village. The lot, Crossley said, has been vacant for five years.
“(The lot) is just sitting there, waiting for a little energy and emotion,” Crossley said.
Crossley said they’ll build the same quality of homes in the area, just smaller. The detached, ranch-style patio homes will be approximately 1,700 to 2,600 square feet and will be priced in the low- to mid-$200,000s. The homes will be tied to a master association that will take care of all outside services.
“They’ll have a lot of the quality finishes that the big homes have, but they’ll be about half the size of the existing size,” Crossley said. “If you cut the size in half, you can cut the price in half.”
The location, Crossley said, is great because it provides access to nearby recreation, restaurants and stores, as well as several highways.
“The old adage, ‘Location, location, location,’ applies here,” Crossley said. “There’s only one spot I’d even think about doing this, and it’s this lot.”
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