West Bloomfield board approves condo development on Walnut Lake Road

WEST BLOOMFIELD – At a regular meeting Jan. 23, the West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees approved a proposal for a 30-unit duplex condominium community.

According to West Bloomfield Supervisor Steven Kaplan, the Edgewood development was unanimously approved by the township’s Board of Trustees after being recommended by the Planning Commission Jan. 10.

The development is set to be located on the north side of Walnut Lake Road, east of Haggerty Road and the West Bloomfield Trail.

The proposed development area is currently vacant.

“It’s a beautiful area,” Kaplan said. “It’s three-and-a-half miles of natural beauty roads in West Bloomfield, mainly in the area of Halstead to Haggerty, and both sides of Walnut Lake Road. You might have streams, ponds, different sets of trees, vegetation.”

Kaplan said that the development is for two-story duplexes, which are expected to sell for $400,000 or more. In an email he stated that the building footprints’ area is 8.56 acres.

The property is set to be developed by Schafer Development, and it will be built, sold and marketed by Toll Brothers.

Steven Schafer is the owner of Schafer Development.

“I’ve been a resident of West Bloomfield for over 60 years,” Schafer said. “The site’s best suited for an empty-nester-type product. I think it’s a missing product that we currently don’t have in the township. The units are going to  have main-floor master bedrooms so people don’t have to climb stairs. … It’ll all be maintained by a professional landscaper so people don’t have the burden of doing the yard work.”

Schafer expects the units to have three bedrooms, and although he isn’t positive yet, the square footage could start at either 1,800 or 2,200, and go up to 2,800 square feet.

He anticipates that development may begin in late summer this year or April of next year. Once the project gets started, he estimated that it will probably take a couple of years to complete.

“It backs up to a beautiful natural preserve,” Schafer said. “(It) offers some great outdoor activity and connection to really enjoy the natural areas there in West Bloomfield.”

Kaplan expects the development to be one that is environmentally friendly.

“The developer has been extremely sensitive, in terms of environmental features and also not disturbing the Natural Beauty Road,” he said, referring to a state designation.

Kaplan acknowledged that some residents have expressed concerns about the development.

“A handful of residents have manifested concerns over the Edgewood Development’s effect on the natural beauty road,” he stated via email. “Township board members desire to preserve as much vegetation as possible. The developer has met with residents to hear their concerns, and he is eager to maintain the area.”

Schafer expanded on the environmental component of the development.

“We’ve got a lot of energy-saving features,” he said. “Energy efficiency has been put into it. … There will be sustainable features added to the development.”

According to Schafer, it will be 50% open space, with measures in place to reduce their carbon footprint and preserve natural features. He also added that there will be a parking area provided and a pathway for a trail connection.

From Kaplan’s  perspective, the development is ideal for the direction the township wants to go in with its development projects.

“Back in about 2019, the township board commissioned a housing study, and it related to a request by an applicant to build senior citizen housing … and that led the housing study author to determine that we need more density in West Bloomfield; we need different types of housing – apartments, duplexes, cluster homes – and so this fits right into that housing study recommendation,” he said. “It varies our housing stock. These 30 duplexes are (going to) sell very rapidly.”

Kaplan discussed the state of development in West Bloomfield.

“We’re 98% built,” he said. “Our main goal is to protect the environmental features, and we’ve accomplished that.”