Source: Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
Huber Heights,Ohio - The multimillion-dollar Benchrock golf course and housing project soon will belong to a new developer.
Hills Communities Inc., a Cincinnati-based developer, agreed Tuesday to purchase the golf course and land set aside for housing and commercial development from the Kendall Group of Columbus, according to a statement issued by Hills Communities on Thursday.
Details of the agreement between Hills Land and Development Company, a division of Hills Communities, and Kendall Group were completed over the past few weeks. The developer and its affiliate, The Inverness Group, have been involved in the Benchrock community throughout much of the life of the project, with contracts to build both multi-family and single-family homes within the 668-acre development.
'We've been involved at Benchrock almost from the very beginning,' Ian Guttman, vice president of Hills, said in the statement. 'We're excited to have the opportunity to deliver on the spectacular vision created for this community.'
Guttman was unable to be reached for further comment. Hills Marketing Manager Renee Redmon declined to comment on whether Ryan Homes, a residential builder with previous plans to build on the site, will be involved in the project. Officials from Ryan Homes could not be reached for comment.
Construction on the $9 million golf course stopped in late August when the Kendall Group was unable to secure financing to continue the project.
'This agreement with Hills will assure all concerned that this unique lifestyle and golf community envisioned in 2002 by the Kendall Group will be completed by one of the original builders who shared in that vision from the outset,' said Gary Bachinski, president of the Kendall Group, in the statement.
The company's statement says that city officials 'were eager in their support for this agreement.' But since details of the new construction are unavailable, some Huber Heights council members remained apprehensive about the nature of the new construction.
'I am glad that we are finally getting a group with the financial wherewithal to do a decent job,' said Councilman Mark Campbell. 'But the important question that we don't know the answer to is this: Does this new construction have all the amenities that had been promised?'
The city of Huber Heights built a $7 million access road to the golf course to win the development, and council members were briefed on the change of ownership earlier this week. The council faced criticism from residents for agreeing to put a $7 million investment into a project that later proved to be financially unstable. But the city intends to assess the cost of the road to the final owners of Benchrock.
Benchrock is part of a planned recreational, educational and residential campus, including a 221-acre, 18-hole championship golf course, the new full-service Huber Heights YMCA and the exceptional Carriage Hill Five Rivers MetroPark, all interconnected by a system of bike paths, walkways and planned high-quality residential and commercial/office complexes.
Redmon said 'it's hard to say' when development will commence again on the golf course considering the purchase agreement was just signed on Tuesday.
