Document text
A developing situation Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Underground utilities are being installed for a new subdivision, one of seven under way citywide, off southwest Medford's Stewart Avenue and Lozier Lane. When the second phase is finished more than 100 new homes will have been added to Medford's stock of houses. Elk Creek Estates will bring homes, apartments and office space to South Medford intersection By MELISSA MARTIN Crews are breaking ground on Elk Creek Estates, a development with 100 homes, 80 apartments or condominiums and a commercial building that the owner hopes will draw a chain restaurant or medical offices. The development is off Stewart Avenue and Lozier Lane, which crews are extending nearly a quarter-mile to Orchard Home Drive. "People like to be in that neighborhood," said property owner Ben Zar� of Redha Corp. "Now with the improvements to Stewart Avenue and Highway 238, it's going to be easier to get from one end of town to the other." Elk Creek Estates wetland attracts attention as landing spot for birds Cattails and other marsh plants are growing along the edge of Elk Creek Estates after developers created a wetland on 6.1 of the subdivision's 37 acres. "It's a vegetative wetland as opposed to an open water wetland that attracts ducks," said Portland wetlands consultant Phil Scoles of Terra Science Inc. "It will attract songbirds and small mammals and be a friendly place for neighbors to look at." The developer of Elk Creek Estates spent nearly $100,000 to create a marshland plan that would satisfy Oregon Division of Lands and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rules. Terra Science also designed a storm drain system to direct the runoff created by the subdivision's paved surfaces and send it to a settling pond, where it will be filtered before it enters the city's storm drain system and eventually empties into Bear Creek. The subdivision is named after Elk Creek, an irrigation drainage system that shows up on historical city maps, Scoles said. The wetland is the result of runoff from orchard and farm irrigation that has collected in this relatively flat part of Medford. Prices in Elk Creek Estates should attract buyers who in the past have moved to Central Point or Eagle Point because of Medford's rising housing costs, Zar� said. Homes will range from $139,000 to $170,000 for 1,300 to 1,800 square feet. Apartments and condominiums may be similar to those on Poplar Drive and will be heavily landscaped, with covered carports and storage or a single-car garage, Zar� said. A two-bedroom may rent for $600. "This is a mixed-use development with single family and multifamily and designated commercial," said Steve DeCarlow of DeCarlow Homes Inc., one of three partners in the Elk Creek project. DeCarlow is putting in the infrastructure, including the Lozier Lane extension, the storm drain system and 6.1 acres of wetlands protection, which cost the developer about $100,000. DeCarlow Homes and Pacific Trend will build homes in the development. "People should be able to start picking out their lot in another month," DeCarlow said. The project has been delayed nearly three years while the city of Medford decided who should pay for the $300,000 signal that's going up at Stewart Avenue and Lozier Lane. The intersection has had a three-way stop since the fatal accident that took the life of a young father, a National Guardsman, about three years ago. Elk Creek Joint Venture's portion of the new traffic signal is about $100,000, Zar� said. Jackson County will pay $70,000 and the city of Medford will pay $25,000, with another developer picking up the rest. With the traffic signal issue settled, builders hope to start pouring foundations in December or January for 52 homes and the remaining 50 homes within the year, Zar� said. The 10,000 or 15,000-square-foot commercial building is Phase 6 of the project. "A friend suggested I try to get a chain restaurant such as the Olive Garden," Zar� said. "That piece backs up against the wetlands and that would be a nice setting and offer a good view." Other ideas for the commercial building could include a doctor, dentist or accountant office, a barber shop, a video store or office space, he said. Elk Creek Estates is the largest of recent developments in South Medford, which combined will add 104 new homes and 20 apartments or duplexes. Also, Klamath First Federal is building a new bank on Stewart Avenue. There's a Minute Market going up on the corner of Columbus and Stewart and a 3,100-square-foot commercial building. Across Medford, there are seven new subdivisions under construction, said Cory Crebbin, Medford's public works director. Several more are in the planning stages, including a 218-home subdivision at the corner of North Phoenix Road and Cherry Lane. In south Medford, growth has been steady the past decade, partly because it hasn't been affected by the traffic restrictions that limited housing starts in east Medford, said Mark Gallagher, senior planner for the city of Medford. South Medford experienced its own growth limits in the 1980s before there were adequate storm drain systems, Gallagher said. The city created system development charges for storm drains. Developers were required to lay pipes and build holding ponds to channel runoff water from driveways and streets that used to be absorbed by fields and pasture lands. "Looking at the numbers, the growth has been average," Gallagher said. "It's been focused on the southwest part of town." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.