Oakmont officials approve plans for proposed housing development near country club

A proposed housing plan near the Oakmont Country Club has cleared a hurdle with borough council.

Elected officials unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve the subdivision and land development plans for Oakmont Place, a 12-unit, one-floor patio home development off Hulton Road by Eleventh Street.

“We’re very happy,” landscape architect Steven Victor of Victor-Wetzel Associates said after the vote. “Now we can move forward.”

Victor and attorney Jonathan Kamin delivered a presentation to council on behalf of developer, Cypress Partners, a few weeks ago.

The new homes are expected to be built on the 4.5-acre site of the former Massaro Mansion property. The three-story, 15,000-square-foot white brick mansion was built in 1904. It has long since been demolished and the land sat vacant for at least a year.

“Oakmont is a tremendous community, and we’re happy to have such a great location,” Kamin said earlier this month.

A 500-foot cul-de-sac would be created as part of the project along with underground tanks to help with stormwater management, according to the presentation.

Some trees and other landscaping would be planted at the entrance and around the property.

The developer still needs a highway occupancy permit from PennDOT and other permits and approvals from the state Department of Environmental Protection before construction could begin.

Excavation is projected to start in April provided there are no problems getting all the permits.

“I would think that home construction would begin this summer, which means people are probably not moving until the beginning of 2022,” Victor said.

Each proposed lot is about a quarter-acre. Estimated cost per unit ranges from a little less than $700,000 to more than $1 million.

A developers agreement is in the works. The agreement would outline for the borough what work needs to be done, hours of operation and other details. That could be approved as early as next month.

Oakmont planning commissioners recommended the project for approval last year with 11 conditions.

Borough Manager Scot Fodi said the concerns were addressed with updated technical data recently submitted by the developer.

“It meets everything that the borough code requires it to meet,” Fodi said. “Oakmont is a very mature community, and there’s very few places in the borough to build new. This is an ‘in-fill project’ that should not have a problem filling out relatively quick.”

Council President Patricia Friday said plans were thoroughly vetted by the borough and Senate Engineering, and everyone is excited about the development.

“I think that it’s going to be a nice addition to the residential choices that people have in town,” she said. “From what the developer said, there are a lot of people that have said they would be interested in building a home here.”