OPINION |
Over the weekend, I headed off for new terrain for my run.
Long-time marathoner Robert Dewar (218 completed marathons) suggested a running route that goes east on Catalpa Street, under Highway 65, to Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church, and beyond.
It's a beautiful run, especially during fall. It ran by some of the priciest and most picturesque homes in Greene County.
Catalpa becomes Farm Road 144, which curves south into South Royal Drive (South Farm Road 197) and dead ends at East Sunshine Street, also known as Highway D.
I figured it wouldn't be a Dollar General
That's where I saw the early stages of a 27-acre development — lots of heavy equipment and lots of caterpillar tracks across muddy, cleared ground.
The site is just east of city limits and — as far as development progressing east on Sunshine — in my mind, it marks the current frontier.
Having run past homes worth over $1 million (I checked assessor's records) I wondered what was going in. I didn't think it would be a Dollar General, Kum & Go. or even a motor speedway.
It will be a gated community
Preliminary plans, which have been approved by Greene County, call for six office lots along East Sunshine and 34 residential lots — with the two largest lots (2.1 acres and 2.2 acres) at the northwest corner of the development.
The other 32 lot sizes range in size from just over 10,000 square feet to 29,000 square feet. For comparison purposes, one acre is 43,560 square feet.
It will be a gated community, according to documents on file with the county.
The land has been rezoned to what's called “plot assignment district.”
According to the Greene County website, a plot assignment district is a specialized zoning district that specifies land uses.
Developer is Meadowood Development
The developer is Meadowood Development LLC, in Springfield. The registered agent is Stephanie Stenger Montgomery. When I called the number for the developer I was told I needed to talk to Stuart Stenger.
He called me back; I missed the call and called him back. We did not connect by deadline.
According to online records, Meadowood bought the land in 2020 and 2021.
Land most recently was a pasture
Records with Greene County state the property was pasture land.
When I looked at online records with the Greene County Assessor's office the aerial photo shows a structure on the property that is no longer there.
Utilities will be provided by City Utilities.
This is Answer Man Column No. 24.