Published: October 30, 2007 11:51 am      

City housing projects taking shape

CUMBERLAND - On the drawing board since April 2005, the first residents of Cornerstone Hill could move in in time to welcome 2008 - and they'll be swimming come the summer season.

Traveling west along Interstate 68, Cornerstone Hill is perhaps the most visible of all the city's construction projects as the planned townhouse community stands atop McKaig's Hill on the old Navy ballfield along James Day Drive.

Bill Chesno, a real estate agent with Long & Foster, said a number of people have stopped by since construction began in early 2006 and he receives seven to 10 inquires a week about it.

The current "game plan," he said, is to apply for occupancy permits for the first five units, all of which have been sold, in early December. The next two sets, of which six of 10 have been sold, are expected to close in January.

Also in December, the pool space will be dug and the clubhouse foundation poured.

Phase two then gets under way and includes construction on 21 units.

"We've had some delays," Chesno said, noting gas lines had to be moved and two large retaining walls, one bordering I-68 and the other along James Day Drive, had to be built. "It's good to see that we have actual closings set. Things are back on track."

He said the project will look a bit different within the next 10 days when the roads are paved.

Miguel Zavaleta of Virginia is a principal in Cornerstone Enterprises LLC, the company responsible for the three-level homes where interior units are selling for $160,000 and end units, $165,000.

Dirt also is moving for Gateway Town Homes at the intersection of Vancouver and Fourth streets and Dave Uram couldn't be happier.

First made public in March 2006, Uram admits it's taken some time to move through the process, but it's well worth it. "We are under construction and moving forward," Uram of PIRHL Inc. said.

PIRHL of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, is both the developer and contractor on the project. The transfer of property from Verizon occurred about six weeks ago and the ground finally was broken two weeks ago.

In an "ideal world," enough progress will be made that some units will be under roof giving workers the chance to work inside before winter weather halts construction.

The land eventually will see 26 townhouses. The site is the larger of two PIRHL will develop with a location on Oldtown and Wempe to eventually house four units. That project has not started.

All will be under a lease/purchase structure whereby residents will rent the unit for 15 years and then transition into home ownership, Uram said.

The proposed rent has been announced as between $246 and $564 a month.

PIRHL was successful in receiving tax credits from the state's Community Development Association Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

The Klots Mill and East Side School projects have applied for that tax credit program and are awaiting word.

Paul Fitch of The Landmark Group - Fitch Development in Winston-Salem, N.C., said state representatives have visited the sites and the awards are expected to be made at the end of November.

"That's the deciding factor," Fitch, who is behind Klots Mill at 917 Gay St., said. "If we get the tax credits, we'll go through with buying the building and then build the structure. Everything is dependent on the tax credit."

Fitch said construction on the 36 loft apartments with townhouses nearby could begin in May with a projected completion of March or April 2009. The first steps would be to complete construction drawings and bring them before the city's Municipal Planning and Zoning Commission for approval.

"We would love to come to Cumberland," Fitch said, noting the city staff and area residents have been responsive to the project.

The Cumberland Housing Authority is a 10 percent partner in the venture and has been shadowing Landmark.

Russell Conway, the authority's executive director, said he's waiting for a market study to be finished regarding the Frederick Street site where the Benjamin Banneker Apartments once stood.

Then a package will be put together for the state program.

The site will become home to 18 to 20 apartments with a townhouse look. About 10 shy of what Benjamin Banneker offered, Conway said he hopes future authority projects make up the difference.

One such project is in conjunction with the Federal Correctional Institution whereby modular homes would be built through the prison's training program.

From the exterior, nothing's changed at the East Side School site.

Al Borvice of the Housing Development and Neighborhood Preservation Corp., based in San Francisco, said an application for 48 units has been submitted for the former school at 100 Reynolds St.

The project calls for the school, built in 1921 and closed in 1984, to be converted into apartments with two-story townhouses with third-floor loft apartments built nearby. The estimated rents are between $530 and $725 a month.

The project went through the state application once and finished ninth; the top eight received funding.

Contact Maria Smith at msmith@times-news.com.

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At A Glance

* NEW HOMES - Four housing projects, two of which are under construction, are in the pipeline for the city of Cumberland.

* CORNERSTONE HILL - McKaig's Hill along James Day Drive, a planned 57-townhouse community. First 15 units, of which 11 are sold, are almost ready to be occupied. Second phase of 21 units to begin soon. Price range: $160,000 to $165,000.

* EAST SIDE SCHOOL - 100 Reynolds St., 48 units with about half apartments in the school and the rest as two-story townhouses with third floor loft apartments. Price range: Apartment rent is proposed at $530 to $725 per month. No price available on town houses.

* GATEWAY TOWN HOMES - Fourth and Vancouver streets and smaller site on Oldtown Road and Wempe Street, 26 townhouses on Fourth and four on Wempe site. Residents would rent for 15 years and then transition into homeownership. Rents proposed at $246 to $564 per month.

* KLOTS MILL - Location: 917 Gay St., 36 loft apartments in the former Tri-State Discount Center with townhouses construction nearby. Prices not available.

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