Matt Cooney sits inside an excavator to break ground on the site of Walton Oaks, a “neuro-inclusive” neighborhood Sept. 25. Once the homes are completed, Cooney is planning on moving into a home with four friends, including Carly Guy. Joining him on the ground are Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter, center, and David Woodward, chair of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.
By: Mary Beth Almond | Rochester Post | Published October 16, 2024
ROCHESTER HILLS — Oakland County’s first “neuro-inclusive” neighborhood, Walton Oaks, is coming to Rochester Hills.
On Sept. 25, officials broke ground on the $10 million project, which is a partnership between Oakland County; Rochester Housing Solutions, a nonprofit founded by families to create homeownership opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and Three Oaks Communities, a developer that specializes in homes for neurotypical homebuyers as well as adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.
“Walton Oaks is a groundbreaking project that embodies the spirit of inclusion and community that we strive for in Oakland County,” Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said. “By creating spaces where people of all abilities can live together, we are building more than homes — we are fostering opportunities for independence, belonging and growth.”
Walton Oaks is the first housing development of its kind in the county and the second in Michigan. The first was launched by Three Oaks Communities in Saline, Michigan, in 2022.
Walton Oaks, located on Walton Boulevard, across from Oakland University, will include 11 ranch homes on one-third acre lots — including three that have been reserved for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“Walton Oaks has been designed with a very, very specific purpose: to be a place where adults that face the challenge of disability can thrive, in the same community that many of them went to school, work, volunteer, attend RARA, Dutton Farm, Paint a Miracle and much, much more that this community has to offer,” said David Mingle, the chairman of Rochester Housing Solutions. “They want to be surrounded by friends and neighbors that accept them, services that enable their independence, access to the community at large and the ongoing support of RHS, so that every parent can have the peace of mind that when they can no longer take care of their loved one, their child will be safe and able to live a rich and full life.”
Oakland Township resident Maureen Guy’s 36-year-old daughter Carly will be among the first residents of Walton Oaks, living in one of three designated homes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“Since she was very young, anyone who knows her knows that she has always told us, ‘I want to live in my own house with my friends and no parents,’” said Maureen Guy. “Walton Oaks represents the most natural step in Carly’s journey. She will live with friends of her own choosing in her forever home, one that is being designed with care and consideration of all the stages of her life that are to come so that she can just continue to live a full and wonderful life long after Rob and I are no longer able to facilitate that,” Maureen Guy said.
Debra Branham’s 36-year-old daughter Abigail will be among three friends living with Carly.
“Abigail is non-verbal, so she writes out things she has to say, but when she’s with her friends, she doesn’t always whip out her phone to text something to them. They just know what she is trying to convey. That is something you can never replicate by moving into some place with a bunch of people that she didn’t know. The community is valuable for the comfort level of the parents and the residents themselves,” Debra Branham said.
Abigail said she feels “excited” to live with her friends and no parents, and can’t wait to do her own cooking.
If all goes well, officials said, Walton Oaks residents could be moving in toward the end of next year.
The project has both public and private support from the Oakland Together Housing Trust Fund, First State Bank, and private equity partners. The Oakland Together Housing Trust Fund has invested $500,000 into the project.
This collaboration on building neuro-inclusive neighborhoods will continue with Auburn Oaks, located on Auburn Road, near Crooks Road, in Rochester Hills. The community will include 60 townhomes, condominiums and single-family homes, with up to 24 units designated for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A groundbreaking is anticipated in the spring of 2025. The Oakland Together Housing Trust Fund has also invested $1.5 million into the Auburn Oaks development.
“I’m just thrilled to be a small part of giving our residents more freedom, more independence in the community where they can contribute and live their best lives,” Coulter said.