THE LINKS AT FIRESTONE Panel OKs preliminary plan for homes

More than $100 million worth of property is awaiting development.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
COLUMBIANA -- The right to build more than 300 homes on The Links at Firestone Farms will go to 10 Mahoning Valley builders.
Developer Wayne Bacon didn't want to identify the builders yet, but said there was so much interest, he took the first ones to put down deposits.
The homes will line the 18-hole public golf course. The 850-acre area also includes about 65 acres of commercial property.
The Columbiana Planning Commission approved a preliminary plan Tuesday for 20 homes and voted to recommend to city council about eight acres be rezoned from commercial to residential.
Interest is great
Bacon said the interest is great in both residential and commercial property. He plans for the commercial property along state Route 7 to be developed as professional office space.
The commercial strip fronts Route 7, from state Route 14, north to Heck Road.
Bacon has been discussing plans in various forms for more than 10 years.
Much of the development hinged on the city's extending water and sewer services to the area. Council opened bids last week.
The city is again accepting bids for the sewer work because all of the bids were more than 10 percent higher than estimates.
Bacon said that as soon as the city awards the contracts for water and sewer services, contractors will start the project by developing streets and other infrastructure.
The Links at Firestone Farms opened in July 2002. Bacon said the response has been incredible.
& quot;There isn't anything like this between Pittsburgh and Canton, & quot; he said. & quot;I told the course designer to build a golf course that even I could play on, and I don't play golf. The homes will be the same way. It will be an affordable golf course community. & quot;
Long-range plan
Bacon said the builders are planning more than 300 homes that range from $250,000 to $1 million or more.
He compared that with golf course communities in Pittsburgh or other areas, where all the homes are $1 million or more.
Hannah Realty of Pittsburgh is the exclusive real estate agency for the local development. Bacon is also considering a condominium development for a portion of the course.
The golf course is divided by Creek Road, with the front nine holes east of Creek Road to Beaver Lake. The back nine is between Route 7 on the west and Creek Road on the east. The first 20 homes will be built on the southwest side of the course, the south side of the back nine holes.
Those homes will be in the $250,000 to $300,000 range.
The more than 300 homes will be built in neighborhoods interwoven among the fairways and greens.
Bacon said they will build what is needed as the market dictates and roads will be built first as each area is developed.
Members of the planning commission questioned Bacon about streets, sidewalks, electricity and other infrastructure before approving his requests.
He said he understood the panel was questioning him with the best interest of Columbiana residents in mind, but & quot;our standards will be even more strict than the city's. We won't have vacant lots between homes. We won't have homes built that aren't landscaped immediately. & quot;
Besides Bacon, developers for the golf course and community include his two sons and Rick Vernal, all from the area. Vernal is also a partner in Reserve Run Golf Course in Boardman.
The 850-acre lot is the former homestead property of Harvey S. Firestone.
The developers preserved one of the original barns and have turned it into a room for outings and meetings.
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