A large multi-use development on the west side of Hilliard has cleared an initial hurdle to add 123 units of housing that developers expect to come online in 2027.
Those homes will be part of the broader 345-acre Alton Place development in the Big Darby watershed. Alton Place also includes plans for 30-40 commercial shops, said Dwight McCabe, the lead developer of the project.
The Hilliard Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the development plan for the $84 million housing project from Onyx+East with a 5-0 vote Aug. 14 with a few minor caveats. Hilliard City Council will also need to approve some changes, including allowing horizontal siding on the sides and rear of homes in the development at 2717 Alton Darby Creek Road. The development sits across the street from Alton Darby Elementary School.
Construction on the project is expected to start next summer, the company announced in a press release. The first units will become available in 2027. The development will include 34 townhouses and 89 detached single-family homes, according to city documents.
McCabe said the project has more in common with denser streetscapes than typical suburban subdivisions. For example, many of the homes in the development don’t have garages in front of the house and are closer to the street.
“It’s a different type of product that you usually will find in more urban settings like the University District or Grandview Yard. … You don’t usually see that out in suburbia,” McCabe said.
All of the homes will have at least three bedrooms, according to a press release from Onyx+East. Prices will start at around $500,000 for the homes, which will range between 1,800 and 3,000 square feet.
The development is included in the 439 units the city approved for Alton Place years ago, City Planner John Talentino said at the planning and zoning meeting.
The project has taken longer than expected to prepare for construction. McCabe said his firm first got the land in 2018. Some homes already have been built in Alton Place, but none of the commercial development is finished.
“Just getting through engineering approvals and all these kinds of things in the business these days — it has been a long, long process, much longer than anyone is used to and what we expected,” McCabe said.
McCabe declined to comment on specific businesses that will occupy the commercial development — several are still under contract — but said that the goal is to have stores for what people want to have “close to home” such as restaurants, bars, dentists and salons.
The project is the first for-sale housing project in the Columbus area for Onyx+East, which started in Indianapolis 10 years ago and has since expanded to Ohio and Florida. Onyx+East already is involved in multiple build-to-rent projects in Columbus.
“This development reflects our mission to build vibrant neighborhoods where people want to live, grow and thrive,” Onyx+East CEO Kelli Lawrence said in a press release. “Hilliard has grown extensively in recent years and our team is excited to contribute to that growth by providing diverse housing options for future residents.”
Anna Lynn Winfrey covers the western suburbs for the Columbus Dispatch. She can be reached at awinfrey@dispatch.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized action Hilliard City Council must take to advance the project and Onyx+East’s presence in Columbus.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: $84 million housing development in Hilliard clears planning and zoning commission
Reporting by Anna Lynn Winfrey, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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