Apartment plan that would demolish farmhouse built in 1815 faces deadline

A zoning change earlier this year that allowed the project for 7544 Union Schoolhouse Road — in the Fairborn City School District — to move forward was opposed by several nearby residents who called the 19th century farmhouse “historic.”

Property owner Robert Allen disagreed. Allen told the city in a letter the farmhouse is “in no way historic by the usual definition of that term” and that residential development is “the highest and best use of the property.”

There were no public comments against the Redwood final development plan when the planning commission recently approved it, Riverside Mayor Pete Williams said.

“I think there’s a number of things in this project specifically” that will benefit the city, Williams said. “It’s market-rate housing in an area where we’re seeing that there’s high demand for not just single-family homes, but a lot of different housing products to come to the market.”

The developer plans single-story units and is estimating the rents to be between $1,700-$2,300 a month, Riverside records show.

The commission’s recent approval came with a series of conditions and changes, including meeting next week’s deadline, city records show. The revised plan requested by the city has not been filed with Riverside, Community Development Director Nia Holt told the Dayton Daily News late Thursday afternoon.

Williams and Holt said the project fits within the city’s updated land use plan, which was expected to be voted on Thursday night.

“Diverse housing types are important to provide housing opportunities for residents at all stages of life,” Holt said in an email. “We also hope this development will serve those working at Wright-Patt … Downtown Dayton and other key employment centers in the region.”

Redwood Vice President Greg Thurman earlier cited the Riverside site’s location near Wright-Patterson and Dayton as having “extremely convenient access to I-75 and I-675″ and is “minutes away from recreational opportunities” such as Fiver Rivers MetroParks and retail areas.

Attempts to reach Thurman this week were unsuccessful.

He said earlier this year the project was targeted to start about six months after being approved and completion was estimated at two years.

The Independence, Ohio firm has properties in Centerville, Fairborn, Sugarcreek Twp., Tipp City and Washington Twp. with sites under construction in Miamisburg, Troy and Vandalia, Thurman told the Dayton Daily News in February.