Mount Gilead Village Economic Development Committee Chairman Ed Kline announced approval of a proposed plan to build high quality condominiums within the village, at the Mt. Gilead Village Council meeting held on Monday Aug. 17th.

Kline explained that the planning committee met and approved the building of the condominiums to be known as “The Villas at Whetstone” which will be built on Twp. Rd 145, Bingham Road, within the village limits.

Bob Socher, Owner and Managing Partner of Howard Hanna Realcom; Herb Baldwin, Realtor, Howard Hanna; and Don Bowen, landowner of the planned site, attended the meeting to share information and answer questions about the project.

Socher explained that in addition to being a managing partner at Howard Hanna Realcom, he also owns a construction company, RJS Construction Services. He noted that he had contacted Herb Baldwin and Carol Lessick approximately a year ago.

“We fell in love with the area,” Socher said, “Herb put me in touch with Don Bowen, who owns the land, and put together a plan to develop a high quality condominium association. He shared that the the site will contain 44 units with a swimming pool. The site plans for the planned condominium site were discussed at the council meeting.

Socher reported that they are taking steps to get the condos FHA approved, which would require the units to be owner occupied. The units will have a stucco stone exterior, dimensional shingle roofs and some cedar facial work.

Each four unit complex will two 2-bedroom units consisting of 1,295 square feet and two 3-bedroom units consisting of 1,451 square feet. Each unit will have two bathrooms.

The garages will have large inside storage areas that can be locked and will be constructed of attic trusses, which means that they support a live load. A pull down door will be in each garage for storage above the garage area. The living space square footage does not include the storage space or the garages.

The Villas will be built be in three phases. Phase one in the middle, phase two by the road and phase three further down Bingham Road.

“As a Realtor in Morrow County, the folks at Howard Hanna are real excited about this possibility,” Herb Baldwin stated. “There has been a real need in the county. There are a lot of people who who no longer want to or are able to reside at the family farm or two story home, but do not want to reside in Mansfield or Marion where condos are available.”

He noted that the idea has been in the works for the past five or six years with Bowen and himself traveling to look at other products that are available.

“The problem has always been finding a developer,” said Baldwin. “We were blessed with the opportunity to have Bob and (his wife) Mary Lou when they opened this office and he said he could do this.”

“We really love Mt. Gilead,” shared Socher, “You have great people here.”

“We, on the planning committee, were very impressed with the layout,” noted Kline, “and FHA approval will make it more attractive.”

Construction is projected to begin this year dependent on weather, but no later than Spring.

Reach Donna Carver at 419-946-3010, ext. 1804 or on Twitter @MorrCoSentinel.

Courtesy Photo This is the front view of the planned high quality condominiums to be built on Twp. Road 145, Bingham Road.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/08/web1_01-FRONT-VIEWS.jpgCourtesy Photo This is the front view of the planned high quality condominiums to be built on Twp. Road 145, Bingham Road.

Courtesy Photo This view shows what the proposed condominiums will look like from the side.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/08/web1_02-FRONT-SIDE-ELEVATION.jpgCourtesy Photo This view shows what the proposed condominiums will look like from the side.

Courtesy Photo This is the floor plan of the planned high quality condominiums to be built on Twp. Rd. 145, Bingham Road.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/08/web1_Floor-plan.jpgCourtesy Photo This is the floor plan of the planned high quality condominiums to be built on Twp. Rd. 145, Bingham Road.

Courtesy Photo This is the site plan of the condominium complex to be built on Twp. Rd. 145, Bingham Rd.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/08/web1_Site-plan.jpgCourtesy Photo This is the site plan of the condominium complex to be built on Twp. Rd. 145, Bingham Rd.

By Donna Carver

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