Site preparation is underway for a new subdivision at the southwest corner of Sycamore Street and Jefferson Avenue on the near East Side. 'Sycamore Village' will consist of 24 detached single-family homes on a currently vacant 3.86-acre parcel. The subdivision includes four subsidized and 20 market rate units that are expected to be priced in the $180,000 to $200,000 range. Before you roll your eyes- without any advertising, 27 potential buyers have signed up.
Nine styles of homes will be built at the site, each with three or four bedrooms and 1,400 to 1,700 sq.ft. Most homes will have rear-loading garages, many accessed from Sydni Alley, a new alleyway currently being constructed through the parcel. Each home will be extensively landscaped to the tune of $2,400 for plantings and raised flowerbeds as per a comprehensive landscape plan for the development. Builders will also be required to provide a home warranty to protect buyers from any construction defects.
A park-like lawn area with a decorative pedestrian walkway in the interior of the block will offer a secure commons flanked on both sides by the front porches of adjacent homes for young children to play and neighbors to gather.
“I am excited about this project. One of the goals was to build larger homes but in an urban context. There will not be huge yards or set-backs. It will be a new-urbanism style of design,” says Timothy E. Wanamaker, Executive Director of the City’s Office of Strategic Planning.
Surrounding blocks have seen hundreds of new homes built over the past two decades including several market-rate homes. Immediately across Sycamore Street are Davis, Camp and Kane streets where the City recently facilitated construction of 19 homes for sale to moderate-income residents as part of the Mayor’s Livable Communities Initiative. The homes sold from $97,000 to $106,000.
Infrastructure work for Sycamore Village is currently under construction. Streetscape enhancements to Sycamore, Mortimer, Jefferson and Matthews streets include new curbs, sidewalks, trees, fencing, and street lighting.
Due to contamination, soils on the entire site were removed to bedrock and replaced with certified clean fill and topsoil. The property has received New York State Department of Environmental Conservation approval and sign-off.
The project has been designed to be built in three phases with the initial homes to be built along Sycamore Street starting in approximately 45 days. First occupancy is scheduled for late-winter.
“There’s a need there. We have yet to market the project and 27 potential buyers have already signed up,” says Wanamaker. “If we capture 20, we have sold the homes.”
Wanamaker sees Sycamore Village as a “test case” for market rate homes in the city. “Private sector builders are watching the market,” he says. “We currently have the LaSalle-Starin RFP out. Many of the large area builders have taken a look at the project. I am expecting three or four strong proposals.”
“This is a very exciting time for us,” says Wanamker. “Mayor Brown wants to harness the energy building downtown and push development into the neighborhoods. Sycamore Village does that.”
Some have questioned the wisdom of building new homes while the city is losing population. Wanamaker responds, “These people don’t understand community development. We need to re-grow the city. Not everyone wants to move into an older home. While some want the wonderful experience of renovating a home, quite a few families want new product. Our challenge is providing new for-sale homes to meet the demand.” he says.
The City has a surplus of housing and faces the formidable task of demolishing thousands of units. “Much of it is not a product people want to purchase,” says Wanamaker. “A large amount is beyond the renovation stage. The reality is that much of what we have is not a product families want.”
When asked about the theory some have floated that many of the new home buyers in the city have moved from the Hamlin Park community, Wanamaker says there is no hard proof of that. He adds, “Hamlin Park is a great example of housing stock people want with stained glass windows, charm and character. In fact, it is one of the areas included in the ‘Neighborhoods of Choice’ program.”
“Middle income families are going to upgrade one way or another. Either in the city or suburbs, they will get their newly built home,” Wanamaker says. “The East Side is a challenge, but that doesn’t mean we can’t invest there. Rather, we need to invest.”
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