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 Post subject: Cressmoor Estates Update
PostPosted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:58 pm 
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Commission likes latest Cressmoor plan

HOBART | The Plan Commission renewed its preliminary approval for the proposed Cressmoor Estates subdivision and said it would recommend the City Council grant residential tax abatement to the project.

The subdivision planned for the Cressmoor Country Club site has been in the planning stages for about three years. Developers for the site, which is owned by the Kapp family, presented their plan Thursday night for the 100-acre site to the Plan Commission.

Although there currently is a moratorium on residential tax abatement, the City Council is set to reconsider the moratorium at its Feb. 7 meeting.

The plan still needs to go through a public hearing process and get final approval from the commission.

Developers Randy Sekerez, of Sekerez Development, and Randy Hall, owner of Luxor Homes, presented the plan for more than 365 homes at a variety of price points. The housing styles range from paired villas and townhomes to single-family homes. Home prices will start at about the $135,000 range and peak at about $300,000. The homes increase in value from west to east across the property.

The average home price is about $189,000, Hall said. According to his calculations, a homeowner would have to have an average income of $53,000 to afford the starter home in the community, earn about $62,000 for the average-priced home, and $125,000 to qualify for a higher-end home.

Homes will range in square feet from about 1,500 in some models to as much as 3,000, Hall said. Each section will feature a variety of home styles, to avoid a cookie-cutter neighborhood look. Some homes will be a ranch style, and others will feature two stories, Hall said.

Some sections of the community will feature decorative fencing in the front yard. Lots on some homes will be as wide as 80 feet.

The community is designed to attract a wide demographic, from empty-nesters and young families to families looking for more space.

The development would save as many trees and buffer areas as possible, Hall said, and would enhance the areas around the three existing lakes.

Plans also call for a playground, internal walking path and a gazebo. The path may eventually connect to the Oak Savannah Trail, or to the Cressmoor Prairie to the south of the property.

"We're trying to look globally, to make this an attractive place to call home," Hall said.

The developers have decided not to add a nine-hole executive golf course, which had been included in some previous plans.

The plan also calls for a strip of retail development, which would feature potential residential lofts over businesses, along Wisconsin Street.

"We want to create a new standard for subdivisions," Hall said.

He estimates the community will generate $1.5 million for the city in building fees, sewer tap fees and park department contributions. It also will create jobs and increase the city's tax base as well as revitalizing the local retail community and improving the city's infrastructure.

"If this doesn't warrant abatement, what does?" Hall asked.

Commissioners said they were pleased with the latest version of the development plan, and said the area could benefit from residential tax abatement.

"This plan is tremendous," said Carl Lindsey, R-2, who represents the council on the Plan Commission. "It will be a great addition to the city."

Commissioner Dan Waldrop said abatements might have been granted too easily in the past, but the Cressmoor development was an example of how residential tax abatement should be granted.

"If there was a need, it would apply here," he said.

BY CARRIE RODOVICH

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Sunday, January 14, 2007 12:05 AM CST


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