The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Building project plans fall start
Oakwood Park Estates planning single-family homes similar to early 1900s, developer says
A new development would bring 37 new single-family homes to South Lorain.
Oakwood Park Estates is planned on the vacant land west of Oakwood Park, across Clinton Avenue.
The new neighborhood will have homes modeled on the types of houses that were built in the early 1900s.
“They’re not cookie-cutter houses,” said Lorain businessman Jon Veard, whose company Oakwood Park Development LLC is developing the project. “They have some character.”
The block was the former Lowell Elementary School of Lorain City Schools.
That building was demolished as part of the plan to construct new schools around the district and the land has sat vacant for several years.
The land was platted for 42 lots. There are 37 homes planned with a central alley with access to rear driveways and garages. Some of the space will be used for a drainage pond.
It also will be the corridor for the utilities, so the front areas of the houses will “be clean and green,” with the buildings set back about 40 feet from the street, Veard said.
Inside, there will be options for countertops, cabinetry and appliances, he said.
The prices will range about $150,000 to $160,000.
“We’re shooting for the average working guy making 12, 15 dollars an hour,” Veard said.
He added he hopes to work with the city on a tax increment financing plan, or TIF, that allows developers to use some property taxes to pay for public improvements, such as roads and sewers, that support the new homes.
There also could be down payment assistance and incentives for police and firefighters to move into the neighborhood, Veard said.
They are welcome residents because having a police presence deters crime, he said.
The homes are meant to be owner-occupied, not rentals, Veard said.
“I don’t want to rent houses, I want to sell them,” he said.
In recent years, Lorain’s west side has been the growth area of the city.
Ryan Homes and Oster Homes have done great things in Lorain County, Veard said, but he added he wants the new neighborhood to be something different.
The former Oster Homes now is part of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., which develops new houses as K. Hovnanian Homes.
Love of South Lorain
Although many people have moved to Lorain’s west side, there are people who grew up in South Lorain and still love that part of the city, Veard said.
“That’s their environment, they love it and they want to live there,” he said. “I think this is something fresh and new, and we’re going to do it first class.
“We want to make something good where people say, I live there and I’m damn proud of it.”
A new sign announcing the development prompted five inquiries just this week, Veard said.
While parts of South Lorain may have a rough
and tumble reputation, there are many homeowners there who take pride in their houses and their heritage, he said.
“I think we’re going to be a good fit in that neighborhood, and I think the neighborhood will be proud of us as a whole when we’re finished,” Veard said.
He said he met this week with Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley and his administration to begin discussing the needed plans and paperwork to build.
An exact construction schedule is not set, but Veard’s staff already are bidding out the cost of model homes.
“If we could start this fall and bring some new models up next spring, I’ll be happy,” Veard said.
The economic effects of the novel coronavirus will pass.
The United States has weathered economic downturns before and bounced back, Veard said.
He compared the current conditions to his time serving in the Navy.
At sea, a typhoon makes for difficult sailing, but there will be sunny days and calm winds afterward, Veard said.
“It’s no different,” he said. “There’s always going to be sunny days.”