Delaware City Council recently approved plans for further construction at three existing housing developments, all by unanimous votes.
A final development plan was approved for STG Development Ltd. to build 68 apartments on 6.8 acres at Village Gate Apartments north of Bowtown Road and Ferguson Avenue. According to background supplied by the city, council initially approved a 220-unit multi-family development on 22 acres in 1998. In 2003, another 52 units were approved to be built on 9.6 acres.
The 68 units of phase two, to be constructed as six two-story buildings with 147 parking spaces, was approved in 2004. However, they were never built and the approval had expired, so approval was needed again.
“Engineering and zoning standards have been revised and the developer agreed with staff to upgrade the site plan to the extent possible to achieve compliance with the current standards,” stated a city fact sheet.
It was noted that Village Gate is a gated community that rents for up to $1,100 a month. “Rents are up, occupancy is full and we’d like to bring more people to Delaware,” said Jack Wendell of STG. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Also approved was for MI Homes of Central Ohio to build on 47 single-family lots of about 12 acres for Lantern Chase north of Silversmith Lane. The lots would be mainly east-to-west along White Elm Drive and the north-to-south along the to-be-constructed Glemsbury Drive.
The subdivision was initially approved as Smith Farms in 1998, with phase one of development approved in 2001. Phase two for 156 lots was approved in 2006 and 2007, but construction never started. In 2014, council approved reducing phase two to 127 lots, to be built in three sections. What council approved was the first of those three sections.
“The revised layout would result in more open space with park amenities and the preservation of wetlands and wooded areas along the extreme northern portion of the development,” states the planning commission’s staff report.
City Planning Director David Efland said these were the last portions of Lantern Chase.
The other subdivision plan that council approved was for Pulte Homes of Ohio to construct 166 single-family residences on 84 acres at the Communities of Glenross north of Cheshire Road between Balmoral Drive and the railroad tracks. The work would begin in 2016.
The development, a sister to the Glenross Golf Club and Cheshire Crossing, was annexed into the city in 2006 following the 2005 Parade of Homes. In 2011, council approved a total of 1,110 dwellings (484 condominiums and 626 single-family homes) to be built. To date, 119 single-family homes have been built, but Pulte wants to change the numbers to a total of 961 dwellings.
Efland said the new plans were a long-awaited response to the market and a storm water analysis. “This is an improvement over the original plan,” he said.
Finally, in another action at council’s Aug. 10 meeting, council approved refunding $20,000 to Dominion Homes, which was acquired by the city as a temporary occupancy surety in 2008. Although Dominion sold its home building assets to Pulte Homes, it continues to exist as a company and has requested a refund of the deposit.
