Sometime next year, the Water Street District is expected to complete its sixth project, increasing its housing supply to more than 500 apartments, a major milestone for a relatively new development.
But so far, Water Street developers Woodard Development and Crawford Hoying have only built rental units downtown and have not branched out into condos.
RELATED: Great views of ballpark: New apartments coming to downtown Dayton
Jason Woodard, principal of Woodard Development, recently revealed that his development partnership is interested in building some flat-style condos, around 12 to 15 units. But there’s no immediate plans.
“We haven’t found the right spot yet,” Woodard said.
Woodard said he believes there is strong demand for condos, even though people are renting by choice, not necessity.
“I think a lot of our current renters would be buyers if the product were available,” Woodard said.
Woodard said some people have questioned why tenants are willing to pay $1,500 to rent when they could get a mortgage for less than that. Woodard said people like the flexibility of renting, which is preferred over the the long-term commitment of mortgages.
Woodard said his development team likes projects of scale. He said obtaining funding for apartments was not easy at first because it was an unproven market.
The Water Street District’s sixth project will be the Centerfield Flats at Water Street, which will offer 112 new apartments spread across five floors.
MORE: Housing tour highlights luxury living in downtown Dayton
The building will sit at the eastern end of Fifth Third Field, with some units overlooking the ballpark. Work is expected to begin this summer and should take around 12 to 13 months to complete.
New condos have been created at the the Hawthorne School in the McPherson Town Historic District, just north of downtown. Nearly all of the new housing for sale downtown has been townhouses, built by Charles Simms Development.
About the Author