By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com


The developers of The Bluffs at Spring Hill in Brighton say they are ready to start construction of their planned 70-home development upon receiving final approval from the City Council.

At its online meeting Monday night, the City Planning Commission unanimously approved the Planned Unit Development contract with the developer - Schafer Development of Farmington Hills. The development is to be situated on a bluff between the I-96 freeway and the Hamilton Farms condominiums at Flint Road, adjacent to the Spring Mountain Drive development. The vacant, 29-acre parcel is now mostly wooded and hilly terrain. Some two-thirds of the site, or 20 acres, will be clear-cut, with the remaining one-third left in its wooded state. The homes, which will be site condominiums, will be constructed by Pulte Homes, the third-largest home construction company in the U.S.

The Spring Mountain Drive development previously had problems with drainage, erosion, flooding, and damage to some foundations, and that, in turn, led to a lawsuit against the original developers and a court order to take corrective action. Those residents have more recently expressed concerns that the Bluffs at Spring Hill will result in similar problems. However, the developers have assured them, and the city, that they will handle that potential problem by capturing the water that normally flows toward the homes and direct it to a planned detention basin, and from there into a county drain.

The developers have also said that a new, larger capacity booster station will be constructed at the corner of Hillcrest and Nelson streets to handle the increased need for city water with the new development. They have said this will also improve the currently low water pressure for existing homes in the neighborhood.

The developers have only one more legal step before starting construction, and that’s the expected approval Thursday of the PUD contract by the City Council. City Community Development Director Michael Caruso says the developers have told him they intend to start construction immediately afterward, with plans to build the homes in one stage rather than phased in. The homes, varying from 2,000-3,000-square feet in size, will be priced in the $400,000 range.