Homebuilder D.R. Horton targets Intel with proposed 302-home subdivision in Heath
HEATH — Homebuilder D.R. Horton has proposed a 302-home subdivision named South Fork Ridge on a 94-acre site on Irving Wick Drive East, just outside the Heath city limits.
The property, which would be annexed into Heath to provide utilities for the development, is located south of Irving Wick Drive, adjacent to The Villages at River Oaks and across from the River Oaks housing subdivision. It is in the Lakewood School District.
Rob Little, the D.R. Horton division vice president of land acquisition, presented the plan Monday night to Heath City Council’s Community Development Committee. It was a revision of a previous 325-home plan.
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Mayor Mark Johns, who had reservations about the 325-home proposal, supports the revised plan.
“In my opinion, this development in the city of Heath would be good for the city and good for the area to provide additional housing that is greatly needed,” Johns said.
Little acknowledged the homes will be priced well above what the average Heath resident can afford. He said the average home sale price in Heath last year was $223,672 and the city’s median household income is $51,524.
The average sale price on a 50-foot lot in central Ohio is $370,000 and on a 60-foot lot is $420,000, he said. Little said a household income of $115,344 is needed to buy a $370,000 house, and an income of $129,132 is needed to buy a $420,000 house.
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Little said, “That’s a leap” when comparing the average home sale prices to the prices in the proposed South Fork Ridge subdivision.
But the $20 billion Intel Corporation computer chip development coming just south of Johnstown changes the assessment, he said.
“The cost of housing is just expensive” Little said. “It’s just unbelievable. We have to figure out what price range we are trying to serve. The average Intel income is about $130,000, so that’s who we’re looking at.”
During the first five months of the year in Licking County, there have been 1,010 homes sold, with an average sale price of $316,554. In 2019, the average home sale price in the county was $220,791.
The proposed subdivision layout includes 34 acres of open space, a playground and open-air shelter house, three smaller shelter houses, a 3,900-foot crushed limestone walking path, a 100-foot path connecting to the existing bike path.
The homes are 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom, and all have 2-car garages, Little said. The 50-foot lots will have about 5.5 feet on each side of the house.
The mayor, who said “no way” to the initial D.R. Horton proposal, said he enjoys taking care of a larger lot but not everybody agrees.
“I don’t know if I’d necessarily buy one of the lots or homes today, but there seems to be a market for these types,” Johns said. “I sort of evolved in my thinking. So, having more diversity of housing in the area is a good thing.
“From my perspective and everything I’m involved in from an economic development standpoint, our area needed additional housing of various kinds prior to Intel.”
The Heath Planning Commission would make a recommendation to council on the developer's request for Planned Unit Development zoning for the property and the full council would vote on the zoning and the annexation request.
Heath council committees and full council meet again at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively, on Tuesday. The Heath Planning Commission will meet 7 p.m. Thursday. It is not known if the subdivision proposal will be discussed at those meetings.
kmallett@newarkadvocate.com
740-328-8545
Twitter: @kmallett1958
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Homebuilder targets Intel with proposed 302-home subdivision in Heath
