FeedsOakwood plan means more houses
A proposed Oakwood Health Care facility in Canton Township is already impacting the real estate market—and it hasn’t even gone through the initial public hearing.
The potential to site the new facility along Beck Road, north of Michigan Avenue will ultimately create the need for additional housing nearby, according to Attorney Bryan Amann. Amann was at the Canton Planning Commission Monday night, requesting a change in a nearby development that would bring as many as 150 new homes to the area.
“It’s been demonstrated that people want to live close to a health care facility,” Amann told the commission. “We feel very good about that portion of the township.”
‘We’ means the developers of the Woodbridge Estates subdivision, which abuts the proposed Oakwood site to the north. There’s about 60 acres there where up to 560 homes could be developed. The subdivision is about 50 percent constructed now.
The developers want to amend that Planned Development District (PDD) agreement to add an additional 30 acres to it and apply density criteria from the previous portion to the new portion. The first phase of the Ridgewood Estates could house up to 560 homes, but the developer only requested 476.
They want to place an additional 40 homes onto the 30 acre site which otherwise would only fit 110. Even with 150 homes, the overall density of the site would be less than originally approved, according to Amann. He said the new phase wouldn’t see construction until after the Oakwood plan had been through the planning and review process. He said that was reflective of the current housing market.
“I don’t think anyone knows where the bottom of the residential market is yet,” he said.
Developer Patrick Garrick said the plan was to construct homes that fell between the types constructed and sold already in Woodbridge Estates. They have two general price ranges: a 1,300-square foot model that sells for between $140,000 and $160,000 and a 1,600-1,900 square foot floor plan that sells for between $220,000 and $270,000. He said they’ve been getting requests for something in between, that sells for between $180,000 and $210,000.
“It would not be a continuation of the same thing over and over again,” he said.
The commission hosted a public hearing on the proposal Monday night. They also expressed concerns about the preliminary plan for the new land.
“It looks like more of what we’ve already got,” said Commissioner Katherine Bovitz.
It also didn’t meet the requirements for a PDD plan, which stipulates that the development must provide some overall benefit to the community. The plan showed Monday was too dense and didn’t show any features such as bike paths or other amenities.
“Personally, I’m not opposed to a plan that would allow some of the other units coming over, but this seems a little too dense,” said Commissioner Melissa McLaughlin. “I’d like to see a little breadth in there.
Amann admitted that the plan presented wasn’t the final version of the proposed development. He said it was designed to give a glance at the ‘most ugly, most dense’ development that could go there.
“So far, we’ve agreed on the name of the project and that’s it,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
He said recreational features would be a part of the plan as it is further refined.
“What’s good for the community is also good for the project,” he said.
Amann added that the project probably wouldn’t go through the planning process until after the proposed Oakwood site had been finalized.
“It will allow us to have a much more realistic approach as to what the time frame will be,” he said.
