A Columbus developer and builder are back with a new Tipton Lakes housing project for individuals age 55 and older.
Plans for the Village at Tipton Lakes call for about 70 single-family homes along with duplexes on 20 acres at the northwest corner of Carr Hill Road and Champion Drive, said Tom Hooker, builder and owner of Tom Hooker Construction. The location is west of Interstate 65 on the city’s west side.
Land developer Jeffrey Bush and his son Shawn are involved in the project, while Hooker’s wife Lindsey is designing the properties with her Creative Concepts Planning & Design Inc. firm.
The 20-acre property is owned by Carr Road Development LLC, according to records from the Bartholomew County assessor’s office. Hooker said the Carr Road LLC is owned by the Bushes.
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Bush said he and his son will develop the infrastructure, while the Hookers will be responsible for construction. The project is being brought to Tipton Lakes since it currently doesn’t have a 55-and-older community, he said.
“It brings in an element of Tipton Lakes that’s missing,” Bush said.
Hooker said the single-family homes and duplexes in the Village at Tipton Lakes would come with two-bedroom units, two- or three-car garages with an additional office/flex space. The homes and duplexes would each be about 2,000 square feet.
Some of the designs will have basements and loft space, which will be optional, Hooker said.
He declined to provide the anticipated selling prices for the single-family homes or the duplexes.
The new development will include a clubhouse and will be a maintenance-free community, he said.
Provided maintenance would include lawn care, snow removal and any repairs that might be needed on the exterior of homes. Lindsey Hooker said that would be included as part of a homeowner’s fee with Tipton Lakes, but that fee has not been set.
The amenities that would be available in the clubhouse are still being determined, she said.
Neighbor reaction
Hooker said he does not anticipate resistance from nearby neighbors for this project, unlike what happened earlier this year when a similarly-named development was proposed.
In his first try, Bush had approached the city representing Spring Hill Lake Development with a request to rezone 26.79 acres of land to build 20 duplexes targeted to individuals age 55 and older. That project had been planned on the west side of Tipton Lakes Boulevard, north of Goeller Road.
Residents from the Spring Hill and Heron Cove subdivisions told city planning officials that they were concerned about traffic and reduced property values if the duplexes were built near their single-family homes. The rezoning for that project, which had been initially approved by the Columbus Plan Commission in July, was rejected in a 5-2 Columbus City Council vote the following month.
Hooker said construction could begin on the new project in the spring with the first homes available by the end of May or June based on weather conditions.
Dan Slattery, Tipton Lakes Community Association board president, said he went to a presentation about the proposed project recently and the board is supportive of the new project.
“It’s a very good move for the community,” Slattery said.
Slattery said there isn’t a 55-and-older community available in Tipton Lakes, which has become known as a place for families to raise their children.
“This would be a natural extension of that,” Slattery said.
Three adjacent neighbors have single-family homes near the proposed building site, but Slattery said the association board would try to address any concerns those residents might have.
The area where the Village at Tipton Lakes is being proposed is already zoned as residential two-family, which would allow single-family homes and duplexes to be developed, said Jeff Bergman, city-county planning director. Rezoning of the property would not be necessary, he said.
Bergman said the planning department has met with the parties involved in the proposed development. However, no paperwork has yet been filed related to the project.
Bush said engineering work has just started on the project, one of the first steps to develop a preliminary plat. As of now, the only step requiring city consideration would be the Columbus Plan Commission approving a preliminary subdivision plat for the project.
The developers will need to submit detailed plans about drainage and how streets would be constructed to the planning department, which would review the plans internally, Bergman said.
Construction plans and a final plat would also have to be submitted to the city for an internal review, a necessary step in the process moving forward, Bergman said.
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The Columbus Plan Commission will consider a preliminary subdivision plat for the proposed project known as the Village at Tipton Lakes before it can move forward.
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