Wednesday, July 07, 1999
Annexation paves way for upscale development
BY SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — Small-town Lebanon is entering a big-buck housing market.
With little discussion, the Warren County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to annex almost 57 acres in Turtlecreek Township to Lebanon for its first upscale subdivision.
Catalpa Ridge will comprise 55 homes that run from $250,000 to $500,000, said Joseph Farruggia, president of Symmes Township developer Classic Properties.
The developer reduced the number of homes from 59 to 55 to comply with a March change in Lebanon zoning laws that said property annexed from Turtlecreek Township must have one-acre lot sizes.
The change won't otherwise affect the project, Mr. Farruggia said after the commission meeting.
“I think what we're after is a higher standard, a higher type” of housing, he said. “We weren't looking at the number of lots we could get out of it.”
Classic Properties intends to set aside 16 acres for open space and to preserve a row of 100-year-old catalpa trees. Other amenities include a gatehouse, a Lexington-style horse fence and a landscaped entry island.
Lebanon home construction over the past seven to eight years has tended to be “starter” or “mid-range” homes, ranging from $125,000 to $250,000, said Doug Johnson, the city's planning director.
Catalpa Ridge is the first annexation approved following the city zoning change, he said. The zoning amendment was meant to lower density of new housing entering the city from three houses an acre to one house per acre.
Lebanon City Council must give the plan final approval after about three months, giving the community time to respond, he said. Work on Catalpa Ridge could begin as early as this fall.
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