M/I Homes opens its new Grandview Yard development to the public Saturday, offering a rare opportunity to buy new single-family homes near Downtown.
The neighborhood will include 79 detached homes when finished, starting in the mid-$500,000s and rising above $700,000 depending on model and finishes. The first phase of 14 homes is being built; 11 already are spoken for.
“We’re thrilled with the initial response,” said David Balcerzak, M/I’s vice president of sales and marketing for the Columbus home builder.
M/I is offering three models in the development, ranging from 1,961 square feet to 2,750 square feet including a finished basement. All are two stories and include an open layout on the first floor with a room in front that can be used as an office, den or bedroom.
The second floor can include three bedrooms or two bedrooms and a loft space. The lower level can be finished to include a bedroom or rec room.
The homes are 21 feet wide, half the width of many new suburban homes. They feature traditional touches such as front porches, partial or full brick exteriors and detached garages accessible from an alley, while including the 10-foot ceilings, open layouts, deep basements and walk-in closets of new homes.
While M/I Homes has built similar models before in Chicago and Washington, D.C., this is the company’s first urban housing project in central Ohio. M/I plans similar homes on former Battelle property being developed south of W. 5th Avenue and west of Perry Street. Wagenbrenner Development also built 15 detached homes in Grandview Yard but has since focused on attached condominiums.
M/I’s initial buyers at Grandview Yard include young singles and empty nesters and some families drawn to a new home in the Grandview Heights School District, said Andy Gottesman, M/I’s general sales manager.
Kelly Turek was looking to move from her Downtown apartment when she decided to buy one of the homes.
“I wasn’t looking to move to Dublin or anything like that,” said the 29-year-old, who sells medical devices. “I wasn’t looking for a suburb, but I have a dog and I didn’t want to live in a condo or somewhere Downtown without a yard.
“I was also looking for a new build, and those are very hard to find. I was kind of open. I was looking in German Village as well but the homes are old, and if you want a garage or a yard, you’re not going to get that there.”
M/I expects the first occupants to move in late this summer.
