J.A. Development made the request on behalf of property owner, Ravello Properties, to amend the approved planned development, called Havenwood.
The 13 additional single-family attached two-story units within three buildings will be on 1.9 acres of land originally designated for commercial use.
The updated site plan also features an expansion of walking paths, dog park and a new private street with access off of Towne Boulevard on the total 8.37-acre area, according to city staff reports.
The units will be 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom attached townhomes. Sale prices will range from $290,000 to $340,000, according to city documents, and are meant to be owner occupied.
The applicant also requested a 12-month extension on the final development plan for the subdivision.
Although council did not take an official vote on the additional units during Tuesday’s meeting, an informal straw poll showed four of the five council members supported approval with the planning commission’s recommended amendments.
Those amendments require the applicant to construct a private road providing street frontage for units 1 through 4, install walking paths and sidewalks using dustless materials and fully comply with landscaping requirements for parking areas as well as fire department regulations.
Vice Mayor Jennifer Carter abstained from the vote.
Assuming the legislation drafted and read at the next two meetings passes, the applicant can seek final development plan approval through planning commission once the effective date of the approved legislation hits, according to City Planner Claire Fetters-Binegar.
A plat will then have to be submitted to create the additional parcels, she said.
The subdivision is listed on Cristo Homes’ website as an upcoming project, and J.A. Development, LLC and Cristo Homes, Inc. have the same business address, according to Ohio’s Secretary of State Business Search. Cincinnati-based Bayer Becker is the engineer, surveyor and landscape architects for the development.
A final development plan for the subdivision located in Warren County was approved in April 2024 by Middletown’s planning commission. The project’s final plat was approved by planning commission and city council in July 2025.
The final plat for another housing development, Townes of Lincoln Village, was approved Tuesday.
Once the applicant, Bayer Becker, records the approved plat, they can proceed with submitting the required permits for construction of homes, according to Fetters-Binegar.
Bayer Becker made the request on behalf of property owner J.A. Development, LLC.
Four vacant parcels totaling 5.5 acres were originally the location of the former Lincoln Elementary School, the last historical Middletown school building to be demolished when it was torn down in July 2021 on Central Avenue.
Fifty-nine parcels for homes were approved in the final development plan and three parcels for private, open space. There will be a mix of three- and four-unit residential buildings along a new public street to be constructed as part of the development. Home prices are estimated to be about $300,000 for a three-bedroom unit.
Regarding the development, in December 2024 some residents expressed concerns about increased traffic, the price point, the number of residences on the land and that it wouldn’t blend in with the neighboring Highland Historic District.
Council members noted the density concerns, but the housing is needed and development has to be profitable, they said.
The final development plan for the housing was approved April 9, 2025 and a final plat was approved Jan. 14 by the city’s planning commission.
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