By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
Tied to the official grand opening of Heron Springs Townhomes & Apartments September 22 was a green gift to the Orion Community. ?
Included in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the 162 unit rental community was the dedication of the new Heron Springs Nature Preserve, which butts up to the development. ? The Moceri family, who owns the residential development, and Tony Battaglia, owner of the Palazzo de Bocce on N. Lapeer Rd., shared the scissors for the two successes.
Battaglia, who sold about 17 acres of personal land to the Moceris for the development, also donated the 30 adjacent acres to the township for the nature preserve. The development and the park originally came from 57 acres he had purchased to the west of the Palazzo Di Bocce.
‘It’s a nice piece of land, I didn’t have any use for it, so it was good,? he said.
In the south east quadrant of the township, where Orion is seeing the majority of its residential development, the nature preserve will always be a preserve.
‘We have some specifics that they couldn’t develop it and resell it, I made that specific in the agreement.?
Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said this was a true win-win for the community.
‘The donation from the Battaglia family will further protect 30 acres of green space in perpetuity in Orion, which is something we’ve heard loud and clear from our residents and has been a high priority of this board,? he said.
Some stats
Heron Springs is just one of several residential developments in the past year in Orion.
In 2014, 170 new multifamily permits were issued along with 158 single family residential permits.
So far in 2015, 62 building permits have been issued for multi-family developments, and 88 permits granted for single family residential builds. Developers are not required to sell a home before acquiring the’building permit, the reason many large companies can mass produce homes in a short period of time.
But the demand is here in Orion.
To date, six residential developments are under construction. This includes the two Pulte Homes? single-family developments Stonegate West and Parkview; the Contour Development Group condos behind K-Mart at Clarkston and M-24, the townhouses on Baldwin by CRS Comapanies, and two senior living developments at Lapeer and Scripps, along with Heron Springs.
Building Coordinator Kristine Sullivan said it is ‘just booming again.?
‘Especially with the Pulte [developments], and Heron Springs, they’re selling before they even done with a lot of them. It’s amazing to see, because we’re are pulling a lot of people in from Shelby Township, south of here, Troy, Rochester, a lot of people tend to gravitate to Orion,? she said.
Manager of Heron Springs Gayle Nurkala said it was the new ‘norm.?
‘Everything here has been leased up, or leased in advance,? she said. ‘There was a big demand. I don’t believe Lake Orion has anything brand new. These are pretty large apartments, and have all the luxury finishes, so it’s right up there.?
Heron Springs construction started in winter 2013, and leasing started in February 2014. So far, 141 of the 162 units are rented out for an average of $1,750 per month.
Like Heron Springs and other Pulte developments, Waterstone at Village Square condos by Redwood Apartments next to the Great Lakes Athletic Club on Baldwin were nearly leased out before they were done.
‘People were basically lined up to get into them,? Sullivan said. ‘We had people calling here asking us what they should do, who they should contact to get in there. If you sit back and look at it all, from back in 2006, and now, for whatever reason Orion is just booming again.?
More developments are in the works.
Parkview at Orion Commons, a Pulte development at Scripps and M-24, is also applying for its building permits, with a plan for 88 duplexes and 81 single family residences. They have just started to build models, Sullivan said.
‘It seems with Pulte, as fast as they are building them, they are selling them.?
For Heron Springs, who have developments in Auburn Hills and’Clinton Township, as well as other Moceri homes, good marketing helps too.
‘We’re at the tail end now, we’re email blasting everyone to get the last few available,?’Nurkala said.