Is Single-Family Home Construction Making a Comeback?

What goes around comes around, even in the development business. And what's coming around in Geneva appears to be good news for buyers and sellers of single-family homes.

The latest signal is a request to convert about 52 vacant townhome lots in the Fisher Farms area to 42 single-family lots, where developers hope to build detached houses oriented toward empty-nester households.

Scott Pjesky and Mark Fields of Ryan Homes brought the idea before the Geneva Plan Commission on Thursday, June 27, and plan commissioners generally liked the concept, City Planner David Degroot said.

DeGroot said construction of single-family homes has seen a bit of uptick recently, particularly in vacant residential lots or infill areas throughout the city. The Prairie Ridge concept plan is more evidence that single-family home construction could be making a little comeback.

"It's probably the largest residential project we've seen in years," DeGroot said.

Developers are asking for amendments to the Fisher Farms Annexation Agreement and Planned Unit Development (PUD), an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan and a Zoning Map amendment from an R-7 Multiple-Family Residential District to the R-4 High Density Single-Family Residential District.

The lots would be improved with "lifestyle ranch homes" ranging from 1,671 square feet to 2,992 square feet in size, according to a city of Geneva staff report.

The change hints at a developing market for ranch-style homes that cater to an upscale lifestyle, and the developers have credentials that indicate they have a pretty good idea of trends in the residential market.

Ryan Homes is a subsidiary of NVR, the fourth-largest homebuilder in the United States, selling more than 10,000 homes and generating about $3.2 billion of revenues in 2012.

The "lifestyle ranch homes" would provide first-floor master bedrooms, spacious floor plans, and would be low-maintenance. Lawn care and snow removal would be covered by dues to a modified version of an existing homeowners association, the city staff report said.

Options on the homes would include sunrooms, second-floor guest suites, and lookout/walkout finishes. The applicant expects the price range for the homes to be between $325,000 and $375,000.

Pjesky and Fields are proposing to complete an unfinished three-unit townhouse building and develop the remaining lots of the Prairie Ridge Townhomes Subdivision, located at the southeast corner of Bricher Road and Peck Road.

According to a presentation prepared for the Geneva Plan Commission,  the present townhome product isn't moving, while "market demographics continue to suggest that there is a strong demand in Geneva for a premium lifestyle ranch home."

The concept plan presented Thursday to the Plan Commission is the first step to a longer process that includes formal Plan Commission review and a public hearing. If the idea passes muster there, the proposal would move to the full City Council.