The city of Portage may get a 240-home subdivision in the coming years. Representatives from RCJJ Development presented initial plans to the city council last week. The 58-acre subdivision would be located in the 600 block of Porter County Road 700 North, between Willowcreek and Swanson.
Attorney Joe Svetanoff said it would include single-family and cottage homes, water features, sidewalks and a new public park to be maintained by the homeowner's association. "The single-family homes will take care of their maintenance, where the cottage homes will be maintenance-free. And the price points we're coming in at for the cottage homes are $325,000, and the single-family homes, on average, will come in at about $400,000," Svetanoff told council members.
The developer estimates the subdivision would bring in about $312,000 a year in property tax revenues, once it's fully built out. But others warned that it will also be additional territory to which Portage has to provide services, including police and fire protection.
Council President Collin Czilli said the city will have to build a new fire station eventually, due to other recent developments. "For me, it's a balancing act between we've got to raise revenue and the way to raise revenue is development, but we've also got to keep up. And with something like this, we know it's coming. This isn't going to be done tomorrow. It's going to be done three years, four years from now," Czilli said.
Planning for the new subdivision is still in its early stages. As a first step, RCJJ is asking the city to annex the property, which will have to be done in two stages. Council members generally agreed to consider the request, but the plan commission will have a chance to review the proposal before the council takes final action.
