“While well-designed smaller homes on smaller lots in thoughtfully designed communities will not solve the overall family housing supply issue faced by the community, they will help address it,” said Wuest. “That is what Ginn Group is trying to achieve at Fircrest Meadows.”
The pre-planning narrative shows that the project plans to have larger lots on its perimeter adjacent to the current single-family neighborhoods and smaller lots on its interior and adjacent to the power lines. The minimum lot area proposed is 2,500 square feet and the minimum width is 30 feet. Many of the proposed lots are more than 3,000 square feet and the ones adjoining the current neighborhoods are more than 4,000 square feet.
In addition to homes, Ginn plans to retain a grove of trees that is on a slope. The narrative states that the developer envisions a trail through that open space and a pocket park. There would be about an acre of the property set aside as common open space.
The plans call for extensions of Northeast 14th Street and Northeast 16th Street into the neighborhood. Northeast 122nd Avenue would exist in the development as private street segments with dead-end cul-de-sacs.
The land is not currently owned by Ginn but rather by Ardis Bradstreet, according to county records. It’s surrounded predominantly by single-family homes and has only one home on it. Ginn plans to purchase the property before the company begins construction. According to county records, the land is valued at around $2 million.
Wuest said the zone change application and development application will be decided on concurrently. The company hopes the city will make a final decision on the project in October.
If approved, Wuest said Ginn would likely break ground in May 2024, though that date could change.
