Developer withdraws housing proposal

Columbus firm once planned to build 60-70 multi-family units.

A developer has withdrawn its second plan to build affordable housing as multi-family units in Kettering and Butler Township.

A Columbus-based KETTERING — developer has withdrawn from its second plan to build affordable housing as multi-family units in Kettering and Butler Township.

Spire Development had said in a letter to Kettering that it was interested in building 60 to 70 apartment units on the vacant property on Swigart Road just east of Wilmington Pike. The company later withdrew that request.

“We now have no interest in pursuing that (Kettering) project at this time,” said a spokesperson for the agency, who added that it also has no interest in following up on a request to build similar housing in Butler Township that was tabled early last year.

In January 2017, Spire Development and Fairfield Homes, Inc. pulled their rezoning request regarding a proposed apartment complex from the Butler Township Trustee’s agenda regarding a 60-unit multi-family development at 7919 and 7929 N. Dixie Dr., just south of Dayton Memorial Park. The original plans called for 44 townhomes and 16 flats with a range of one to three bedrooms.

The zoning commission heard the proposal in December 2016 and recommended approval. However, the proposal was tabled in early January before Spire ended up pulling its rezoning request, according to township officials.

Spire works with the largest tax credit developer in Ohio, Fairfield Homes in Lancaster, which manages more than 100 apartment communities. The developer has listed eight multi-family affordable housing complexes it is working on in Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan and Kentucky. All are projected to open by 2020.

Village of Hebron Administrator Ralph Wise said one of those projects, Hopewell Cottages, is already operating in Hebron. Hebron received 9 percent housing tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency in 2015, and the complex opened in 2017.

“Everything has pretty much gone smoothly ... with the plan outlined for the project here,” Wise said. “I really can’t say why Spire would’ve pulled out of the projects in the Dayton area, but a lot likely has to do with trying to see what housing tax credits you might be able to get to build this type of housing. That helped get the project built here.”

Kettering officials say the plan offered by Spire was never formally presented or considered since the letter from the developer was just received.