A project dating back over 30 years ago will finally see a new phase of development, welcoming 25 new houses to the South Farm neighborhood.
In the 1990s, a project intended to boost homeownership in Oxford was approved by city council, but hardly acted on. Nearly 200 new houses were planned for the area off Kehr Road, but as of now, only 11 were actually built on Morgan Circle.
The plat, which is the document allowing contracted land to be divided up, is awaiting approval at the Nov. 19 city council meeting, along with an ordinance to abandon the original layout of the roads and sidewalks from previous development plans. Groundbreaking in South Farm could begin within the year, pending the approval of these two ordinances.
Following the original construction of 11 homes, most of the land has remained undeveloped, aside from the small plot of land occupied by Cobblestone Community Church, which expressed initial investment in the land during the first phase of development years ago.
“The church was interested in some land, and so [Cobblestone Community Church] ended up acquiring a lot of the land out there,” said Sam Perry, Oxford’s community development director. “So what’s being developed now is kind of the pieces that the church did not buy.”
Oxford’s small housing marking allowed the church to quickly acquire the land initially intended for housing development, according to Perry. However, after interest from a development firm, city staff has turned its attention to creating more housing options for local residents.
Discussing the availability of housing in Oxford is no new topic at city council meetings. At the March 5 meeting, council members placed a moratorium on the development of any new short-term rental homes. Council and members of the Oxford community expressed concerns at the meeting on what these houses mean for Oxford’s already competitive housing market, especially if the houses are empty for the majority of the year with no permanent residence on the property.
On Oct. 1, city council renewed this moratorium with continued concerns of Oxford’s slim housing market in the Mile Square area. However, with the development of South Farm and other potential areas of Oxford, more housing options will be available in the near future.
On Jan 27., 2021, Mike Shea & John Boyle Developers, a small developer company, had plans approved by council to develop on Hoover Drive; however, the company was never able to follow through on construction due to a lack of resources during COVID-19.
The area later acquired interest from Joe Cristo of Cristo Homes, the development company contracted for phase two of development in South Farm. Cristo took the original plan for the land laid out by the previous developers, made a few changes and submitted an official contract.
Mike Rudolph, president of the homeowners association and resident of South Farm, said he looks forward to new development in the area, but worries about the loss of green spaces with the increased number of houses proposed for the area.
“The idea that there is development is a positive,” Rudolph said. “We are concerned a little bit about the density of one of the developments going in out there … but that does seem like that is the way a lot of the new subdivisions are going.”
Rudolph bought the second home built in South Farm in 1994 with his wife two years after their marriage. Rudolph is originally from Oxford, but had been living in an apartment in Anderson Township until the opportunity presented itself to move back to Oxford to be closer to his side of the family.
“We kept looking to build a home someplace,” Rudolph said. “And one day we were driving … and saw the subdivision was getting started, and so that’s where we started.”
Since then, Rudolph has worked with Perry in all matters pertaining to the neighborhood, from managing the pond located in South Farm to working with contractors for home improvements. These proposed developments have been no different.
“We work with Sam an awful lot … representing homeowners to the city,” Rudolph said.
South Farms is not the only area seeing development in Oxford. Owls’ Landing, a subdivision in South Forest Edge located on Lake Forest Drive, has been under construction since early last year and will have 86 plots over 22 acres. The final phase of South Forest Edge’s construction is also underway, which will have 57 single-family units over 11 acres, intended primarily to serve seniors and retirees.
“We are seeing some new housing, which we haven’t seen, really, in any large scale for many, many decades, being built now,” Perry said. “[Owls’ Landing] is up to around 15 or 20 houses now, which is really, really fast by Oxford standards.”
Oxford City Council will meet to vote on the two ordinances regarding South Farm on Nov. 19 in the Oxford Court House.
