New homes moving forward

2 developments taking root in city

Two housing developments that have been in the works for a while are starting to come to fruition in Willoughby Hills.

Phase one of the Maypine subdivision development, 32700 White Road, has been completed and phase two recently received final approval, according to Willoughby Hills Councilman Chris Hallum.

“I did speak to Russ Berzin, who is involved with this project, and there’s a house being built right now,” he said. “That is going to be a model.”

Hallum said that Berzin expects the model to be done by the end of June or in mid July. The 2,600-square-foot model will feature three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, as well as two entry points to the home, the garage and the basement.

“It’s going to have the bells and whistles,” Hallum said. “He (Berzin) welcomes the community to come see what they’re going to be building there. The price point for this model is around $900,000 — not cheap, but nice.”

The Maypine development is an 18-acre parcel where 12 subplots of at least 1 acre each have been purposed. Four of the lots are intended to face White Road and the remaining units will round out a cul-desac where the street will be built as a new public right of way.

Prior to breaking ground on the development, it was recommended that Maypine project engineers meet with the city engineer to resolve drainage concerns and then return to Planning Commission and the Architectural Review Board, said Councilwoman Tanya Taylor-Draper.

“This group has had two work sessions mainly due to the city’s major concerns with anticipated drainage problems,” she said.

Both parties were able to agree on a plan which satisfied the city’s interests, Draper said.

Additionally, the second project that has been in front of the Planning Commission is the SOM Center Conservation Development project near Marcum and Parkview roads, which recently received preliminary approval.

“They plan on returning to Planning and Zoning to talk things through further,” Hallum said.

In November, the developers approached the PCABR and proposed a 16-lot subdivision to be placed on roughly 16 acres. Their proposal conformed to the city’s development codes, as well as met the regulations explained by the Conservation Development.

Hallum believes these two projects will make Willoughby Hills a different and happier community.

“I know there were some concerned residents about the right thing to do for the city,” he said. “Council’s working on a way to notify residents of projects like this beyond the newsletter, the website and Facebook — something when you happen to be driving by and will prompt you to contact the city to find out what it is. I encourage to be vigilant to keep informed.”