Plum planners recommend approval of first phase of 158-home development
Share this post:
Plum’s planning commission has recommended approval of the first 35 houses in a planned 158-home development.
Plum Council might vote on approval of the first phase of the three-phase Patriot Estates plan in February, Assistant Borough Manager David Soboslay said.
The first 35 single-family homes would be built on a new road off Davidson Road, not far from Saltsburg Road.
The full development would cover about 140 acres.
The second phase consists of 26 houses and would include a gated, emergency access connection to Aspen Drive in the Willow Village neighborhood off Saltsburg Road, according to Katrina Harmel, a project manager with Sheffler & Co. from Ohio Township. The final 97 houses would be in the third phase.
Connecting the new development to Willow Village, currently a dead-end neighborhood, was opposed by many of its residents, some of whom spoke at a public hearing in August and many of whom placed signs in their yards reading “No access to Patriot housing plan.”
Developer John Spagnolo said the houses would be built before they are sold. He said they would be situated on quarter-acre lots and be 2,200 to 2,600 square feet. Prices will be $400,000 to $500,000.
The two-story houses have three different floor plans and eight different facades, he said. Artist renderings of the homes were not yet available.
Spagnolo said they hope to begin construction as soon as the weather allows. After earthwork and utilities are ready, they hope to start paving in the summer and have house construction begin soon after that, he said.
When the developer will be able to start work could depend on how quickly outstanding issues are resolved before council, Soboslay said.
He said there are 20 to 30 items that need to be addressed.
The development also needs third-party approvals, such as those from the Allegheny County Conservation District and Plum Borough Municipal Authority, before work can start, Soboslay said.
Spagnolo said they are working on all of those issues and approvals; he said the company is accounting for them in its tentative timeline.
Spagnolo said they could have all 35 houses under roof within a year and move forward with the second and third phases in quick succession.
“We think there’s nice housing demand in Plum,” he said. “We’re excited to get started.”
The builder is D.R. Horton, which Spagnolo said is moving into the Pittsburgh market. Headquartered in Arlington, Texas, D.R. Horton bills itself as the largest homebuilder in the nation.
A representative of D.R. Horton did not respond to a request for comment.
Plum Council’s February work session is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 6; its voting meeting will be Monday, Feb. 13. Both start at 7 p.m. in the municipal center, 2000 Old Mine Road.