GIRARD — The city may be getting a new housing development in 2026, as plans were presented for the Maplewood Estates Development to be located off Route 422.

Jason Altobelli, a Niles Realtor, met with city council and officials Tuesday to present plans for the housing development.

Altobelli said the property has 32 lots of 90 by 160 feet off Route 422 and north of Oak Street and Greenwood Avenue for single-family homes. He said the lots are all within the Girard school district.

Altobelli said he has met with officials to finalize the permits and other needed paperwork for the project, which will be a Tax Increment Financing Fund (TIFF) district.

He said a TIFF district makes the project more viable since there will be some infrastructure needed for the development, while sewer lines are already in place on the property.

Altobelli said waterlines would need to be put in.

Altobelli said the TIFF district will also have funds available to the city for public infrastructure projects.

He said the TIFF would allow for recouping of a portion of the funds to put the housing district in over 10 years, with some of the excess funds to stay with the city for infrastructure projects.

Based on a similar housing project in Niles, he expects the 30 planned homes for the Girard development to generate $25,000 per house over 10 years in a TIFF district.

“Those funds will be earmarked specifically for infrastructure,” he said.

The Ohio Department of Development states TIFF districts are an economic development mechanism available to local governments to finance public infrastructure improvements and, in certain circumstances, residential rehabilitation.

TIFFs are implemented at the local level and may be created by a township, municipality or county. Payments derived from the increased assessed value of any improvement to real property beyond that amount are directed towards a separate fund to finance the construction of public infrastructure defined within the TIFF legislation.

According to the ODOD, local jurisdictions seeking to establish a TIFF project must enact legislation that designates the parcel(s) to be exempted from taxation, declares improvements to private property within the specified area as serving a public purpose, delineates the public infrastructure improvements to be made that will directly benefit the parcel and specifies the equivalent funds to be created for those redirected monies..

COUNCIL RESPONSE

First Ward Councilman Keith Schubert, chairman of the building and grounds committee, said council will review what has been presented and at an upcoming council meeting, request legislation be prepared for a TIFF district for the housing project.

Schubert said the legislation would go through three readings for passage.

“We are excited there is an opportunity to develop new housing units in the city of Girard,” Schubert said.

Altobelli said he would like to break ground within six months, with some work in the winter.

“We have not had new housing development in Girard for a while. This would be nice for the city. These are good-sized lots,” Councilman-at-Large John Moliterno said.

Also on Tuesday, the city’s planning commission heard from Altobelli and approved his plans for the Maplewood Estates project, Mayor Mark Zuppo said.

Zuppo said the Seneca Woods housing development was the last big housing development put in the city in the early 1990s.