Preliminary site plan approval for a proposed 20-home subdivision located south of Drahner Rd. and west of M-24 was granted last week by the Oxford Township Board.
Right now, the subdivision is being called Manitou Hills, but ‘that may change,? according to Oxford resident and developer Tom Haner, who’s owned the 28.37-acre vacant property since the late 1990s.
‘I don’t really know (about the name) for sure,? he said. ‘I’m kicking around a couple different ideas.?
The plan is for 20 high-end single family houses to populate the subdivision, which would be situated east of Dakota Court and south of Poppy Hill Dr.
‘They’ll be more expensive homes,? Haner said. ‘I envision probably in the $400,000-and-up range.?
‘I’m talking to a couple builders right now or I might just sell (the lots) to individuals,? he noted. ‘I haven’t fully gone through (the options), but there’s enough interest right now that I’m talking to builders.?
The property is zoned R-2 residential, so the minimum lot size is 25,000 square feet.
Manitou Hills lot sizes will range from 25,200 square feet (0.58 acre) to 61,080 square feet (1.4 acres).
‘There’s actually a couple in there that are going to be an acre or a little over an acre the way it’s laid out,? Haner said.
A large portion of the property extends out into Manitou Lake. As a result, 11 of the proposed homes would have lake frontage.
A park area in the northeast corner of the proposed subdivision is currently depicted on the preliminary site plan.
Haner anticipates returning to the township for final site plan approval ‘probably in a few months.?
‘We have to do engineering and finalize everything that we’ve been thinking about,? he said.
He hopes to have a shovel in the ground by fall and the first homes built by early next year. He anticipates the subdivision being built-out in ‘a year-and-a-half tops.?
‘Hopefully less than that,? Haner said.
Haner originally planned to build this subdivision back in the early 2000s.
According to the township planner, the Ann Arbor-based Carlisle-Wortman Associates, site plan approval was granted in 2001, but it was never developed.
When the recession hit, the project got shelved, according to Haner.
Over the years, Haner said he’s developed other subdivisions in Oxford including Glenmoor on the Lake, Crestmoor, Little Pines and Settlement of Manitou.