FeedsHaddon project approved for Inkster
Inkster City Council members gave a developer who will replace a dilapidated school with 32 new homes final approval for the project Monday night.
First Community Development, a developer that builds homes in stressed communities in the hope of making home ownership a possibility for families that may not otherwise be able to purchase a home, can now build the 32 homes on a parcel of land at Moore and Andover streets, where the old Douglas School building stands.
Council members after a meeting with developers last month, approved Neighborhood Enterprise Zone status for the project Monday night.
The school, which has been closed for more than 20 years and apparently has not been used for other purposes, will be knocked down within 60 days to make room for the homes, according to the development plan.
Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) designation would give homeowners a nearly two-thirds tax break on their property taxes for 12 years. Also, buyers would be eligible for down payment assistance though Wayne County. That assistance, depending on an applicant’s income, can reach $60,000 at the high end.
The homes that will be built on the site are market rate ranches and colonials that will be sold before they are built to prevent a glut of unsold homes during a difficult real estate market, according to Mark Lewis of Lewis/Klein Properties, one of the partner firms that make up First Community Development. The homes come in both three- or four-bedroom floor plans.
All homes are equipped with energy-efficient appliances that will sell for $130,000 to $180,000, depending on the model.
The loans potential residents would receive are from lenders that work with community development, and standard, 30-year fixed mortgages that are not sub prime.
The parcel of land where the homes site is owned by Bishop Clarence Haddon of the High Praise Cathedral of Faith, who is working with Lewis. The church is next door to the parcel where the homes will be constructed.
Extensive infrastructure work, including extending sewer lines and repairing old ones, will need to be completed before homes can be built. It’s unclear at this time whether the homes can be constructed before winter arrives.
Roads will also need to be constructed.
The impending inclement weather may delay the infrastructure work until next spring, which means neighbors should see homes being constructed by May or June 2009.
The Douglas School, which was once part of the Inkster School District, was acquired by Haddon 12 years ago. The building has been boarded up for many years, and sits in an area which is already predominantly residential.
Attempts to reach Lewis were unsuccessful.
