Housing development proposed

A company seeking to build a housing development has set its sights on property on the west side of Portland.

Representatives from Bridgenorth Homes presented Portland Plan Commission with a request for rezoning and preliminary plans for a development Thursday.

Those plans call for the construction of 22 houses and new offices for the local branches of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Department of Child Services and the Division of Family Resources on 6.2 acres of land currently owned by First Baptist Church of Portland at 601 N. Charles St. The total project is estimated between $5 million and $7 million.

The homes would be built on a new street to run parallel to Wayside Place, connecting with Charles Street to the west and Glen Street to the east. The state offices would be at the southeast corner of Votaw and Charles streets.

Bridgenorth, which is based in Greenfield, has completed similar developments in Anderson, New Castle and New Palestine.

“We know people that are now looking at places in Muncie, people who have just bought places in Winchester because there’s nothing to look at here,” said Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman. “This is an opportunity we want to present that would be high-income housing …

“If we’re going to grow as a community, if we’re going to attract people here … here is an opportunity that we could seriously take a look at … that could really make a big difference for the City of Portland and Jay County.”

The First Baptist Church building is currently vacant and on the market. Bridgenorth Homes has an option to buy the property, and plans to move forward if the rezoning request is approved.

The land is currently zoned R-4 (residential with four homes allowed per acre). Bridgenorth is seeking to change one section of the property to highway use for the state offices and the other section to be R-10 (residential with 10 homes allowed per acre) for the housing development.

Jeff Smiley, who presented the plans along with Bridgenorth CEO Don Chesney, explained that he provides office space for state agencies, including a recent project in Hartford City. He has a request for proposal for new space — at least 7,000 square feet — for the three state agencies in Portland but has been unable to find a suitable existing building. That led to the plan to purchase the First Baptist Church land for the combination of new state offices and a housing development.

The state’s current BMV, DCS and DFS offices are presently located in the strip mall on the south side of Votaw Street across from Walmart.

“It’s nothing against where they are at now,” noted Geesaman. “They’re just completely out of room.”

The preliminary housing plan calls for a new street to be constructed north of Wayside Place. It would include 22 lots at 70 feet wide by 90 feet deep — existing lots on Wayside Place are 75 feet wide by 155 feet deep — with homes ranging from 1,600 to 3,000 square feet. Purchase prices would start about $200,000.

Asked about the lot sizes, Chesney said typically he’d be asking for lots 50 feet wide, but that there was a desire to keep them similar to the rest of the neighborhood.

“We just simply tried to mirror what you already had,” he said.

Area residents had several questions, including whether the zoning change could be contingent on the development moving forward. Plan commission president Lee Newman said such requirements can be put in place, allowing the property to revert to its current zoning if plans fall through.

Shirley Bisel also expressed concern, saying she felt a group of neighbors wasn’t given a fair opportunity when they wanted to acquire the property to prevent any development being built behind their Wayside Place homes.

If the project moves forward, Bridgenorth plans to sell the houses before constructing them, intending to build six at a time, Chesney said. The company’s ideal timeline would be to begin site work this winter, with the possibility of starting home construction during summer 2020.

The last time Portland had a similar housing project was in 2005 with the second phase of the Jack Imel development, said Patti McLaughlin, assistant director of Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department.

“If Fort Recovery can have Indian Village. Berne can continue to grow like they are. We have had no new housing starts in Portland,” said Geesaman. “Why can’t we start something on a small scale like this?”

To move forward with the process, Bridgenorth will need to provide plan commission — it is made up of Ron Laux, Bart Darby, Janet Powers, Matt Goldsworthy, Kyle Cook, Don Gillespie, Paula Bonvillian, Kent McClung, Larry Temple and Newman — with more detailed plans for its project. The zoning change would also be subject to a public hearing.

If approved by plan commission, the change would then go to city council for final approval.

Also Monday, plan commission appointed Kyle Cook to the board of zoning appeals. He takes the place of Vicki Tague, who died in April.

“Vicki gave a lot of hours,” said plan commission president Lee Newman. “She will be missed.”