Trotwood City Council recently approved the rezoning of a 2.59-acre parcel of land that used to be a gas station on Main Street from general business zoning to a planned unit development to allow for the development of roughly 70 senior loft apartment units. The Trotwood Community Improvement Corporation acquired the property several years ago due to foreclosure.
“We have been positioning that site for redevelopment, so this is a great opportunity. This will bring in more rooftops in the immediate area and that’ll help bring more purchasing power to support the small businesses along Main Street,” said Chad Downing, housing director of Trotwood Community Improvement Corporation.
The city does offer other independent living communities, but Downing said they are full and they don’t have enough facilities to accommodate this particular demographic.
“Right now there are limited senior housing options for residents of Trotwood and so our goal is really to expand the opportunity for seniors in Trotwood to find accessible, affordable housing options that meet their needs and allow seniors to age in place,” said Pete Schwiegeraht senior vice president of development for MVAH’s Midwest region.
MVAH is looking to build one- and two- bedroom units for those age 55 and up with a fitness center, business center, and community room with onsite management. The development has been identified as “affordable,” but market studies are still underway to determine how much the rent will be for seniors looking to rent a unit.
“They’ll be 100% accessible. We’ll be building into the enterprise green building standards,” Schwiegeraht said.
In addition to creating comfortable independent living communities for seniors, the project will open more houses to serve as starter or secondary homes for Trotwood families and boost the city’s housing market, Downing said.
With the recent developments on Main Street, including the new Goodwill Easter Seals, Dayton Metro Library, and the new courthouse, Downing said it would be a good fit for the area as senior services would be easily accessible to those that live in the units.
While these are only preliminary plans, Trotwood’s planning commission recommended the proposal to city council with a few changes but were ultimately concerned with the way the building fits into the city’s plans to make Main Street the focal point.
“This is really bringing together a lot of synergy right onto Main Street. It goes without saying that this is going to continue to build out Main Street as the city’s center and really bring it into a downtown like feel especially the way the buildings are going to be situated up closer to the road,” said Downing.
MVAH said it’s hoping to be approved for funding by this summer, start construction later this fall and complete the project by late fall 2022.
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