Graphic provided Arbor Homes provided this illustration of home styles available in a Genesis development.
Columbus has approved allowing a developer to begin work on part of a new subdivision that will include an affordable home type new to Columbus.
The Columbus Board of Works approved a subdivision improvement agreement with Arbor Homes for Section 1 of the Sutter Place major subdivision in north Columbus.
The agreement will allow the developer to start construction of roads and public infrastructure, the planning department’s Ashley Beckort said.
Sutter Place is located south of Lowell Road and Abbey Place major subdivision on both the west and east side of County Road 200W.
The approved preliminary plat includes 273 lots and 10 common areas on about 91 acres.
Section 1 of the subdivision will include an initial 50 lots, 16 of which will have “Genesis-style homes” on them. The other 34 lots will be traditional single-family homes, per Beckort.
Genesis homes are intended to be more affordable for first-time homebuyers— they are designed in clusters centered on shared motor courts. The homes will sit on smaller lots, with the structure taking up most of them, according to Beckort.
“I guess Arbor’s finding this product is desirable and it’s easier for people, it’s slightly more affordable than the larger home sites,” Beckort said.
Section 1 also includes a utility parcel for a sanitary lift station and three common areas — two for buffering and one for open space and a drainage pond.
Beckort said the homes will have smaller yards to maintain and homeowner’s association dues will cover maintenance of the common areas.
“There’s kind of a market of people who want a house, but don’t want to maintain the yard,” Beckort told the board.
There will be 10 clusters of the Genesis homes total on the development, with section one including two of those. Beckort said the development will probably be built in four sections.
Board member John Pickett asked how long until the homes begin to get built.
“Usually they can get a pretty good idea by the end of the year and they might be able to start next year, it’s usually about that quick, so it kind of depends on how the weather’s doing,” Beckort said, adding that they’ve just started clearing out trees in the area.
Arbor Homes will request approval of the final subdivision plat for the section later, Beckort said.
At that time, all public improvements will be fully complete, or substantially complete with a financial guarantee for outstanding construction.
Arbor Homes in January 2022 received approval from the Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals to allow the Genesis homes to have lower percentages of ground floor living area than required by local zoning standards.
Columbus City Council about three months later gave approval to annex and rezone land the development will be on from Columbus Township into the city and from Agricultural: Preferred to Residential: Two-Family.
Mayor Mary Ferdon noted that more dense developments is something that the planning department has been looking for.
