Seventy-four single family, urban-style homes are planned for a site in Bellevue that is currently home to the Shady Terrace mobile home park.
The $30 million project led by Cincinnati-based Neyer Properties is on the 700 block of Covert Run Pike.
Bellevue’s planning & zoning commission gave the OK for a residential cluster development overlay zone as well as some variances related to yard setbacks, building heights, and other issues.
“This is a transformative development for one of, if not the ugliest corners in the city,” said planning & zoning commission member James Dady.
Mayor Charlie Cleves was also complimentary of the developer’s plans.
“When I first started meeting with this group, I found out they are a lot different than a lot of the other developers I met with because they actually listened to me,” Cleves said. He explained that Neyer had previously envisioned more than ninety lots for homes with two-way streets and no sidewalks.
But after conversations, the housing lots were reduced to seventy-four, and most of the access streets will be one-way with a sidewalk on one side. There will also be plenty of greenspace on the site, much of which was described as Campbell County Zoning Administrator Cindy Minter, who oversees zoning issues for the city, as non-developable due to it being hillside or because of the makeup of the ground.
“We came up with a product that all of us are really proud of,” Cleves said. “It’s going to be a big plus for the City of Bellevue.”
Neyer Director of Building Development Charlie Pond told the commission that he had long envisioned a project on the site after driving past it many times.
“It always intrigued me,” Pond said, noting that the company is coming off a similar style development in Cincinnati’s Oakley neighborhood called Three Oaks. “We heard a lot of folks in this vicinity would like to see that type of product at a more affordable price point, and so we are offering in this development a much wider price range than we can achieve in Oakley.”
The prices for the single-family homes will range from $250,000 to $600,000, he said. The location, while in Bellevue, is part of the Campbell County Public Schools district, not the Bellevue Independent Schools district.
“We have this project going successfully in Oakley and I just thought, what a perfect place to apply a similar approach,” Pond said.
Pond added that while Neyer will develop the site, multiple builders would be involved in order to accommodate the diverse price points, but Neyer would maintain architectural and design standards.
The site is currently owned by local real estate agent Ken Perry who was represented at Monday night’s meeting in Bellevue by David Trump.
After the zoning overlay and stage one development plan we green lit by the commission, it was noted that a traffic study would be included in the second development plan to be presented later.
Another goal to explore will be extending sidewalks along Covert Run.
Pond said that the development’s planned green space and trails would be open to the wider community and that Neyer would be happy to work with the city on solutions to extend the sidewalks.
Mayor Cleves said that the city continues to search for grant funding for such work. “It’s a high priority for city staff right now,” he said.
The mobile homes that are currently on the site, which have decreased in number in recent years, will be transitioned out, and all will be gone before construction begins.
Additionally, a retention pond is planned to help offset any water overflow in this area long-plagued by flooding.
Story and photos by Michael Monks, RCN editor & publisher
