Housing project slated for Sandusky

SANDUSKY — An estimated multimillion-dollar project calls for building more than two dozen new homes in Sandusky with work possibly starting later this month. Earlier this week, Jenny Craig of Russell Real Estate Services along with Vanderbilt Construction Group and Riedy Construction jointly announced plans for this initiative, occurring on the city's east end. Leaders of companies have great familiarity with the area. Regarding the parties involved: • Craig, a longtime realtor, is working side-by-side with the development team. • Don Janik, president of Vanderbilt, lived in Huron for more than 20 years. • Brian Riedy of Riedy Construction — born, raised and continues to live in Sandusky — will oversee day-to-day construction activities. "We're very excited," Janik said. This marks a major milestone for Sandusky's real estate community considering there haven't been that many home projects of this size in recent memory. What will be built Craig and Janik both provided some details about the project: • Where: Blueprints show homes being built not far from the Cedar Point Sports Center and Sports Force Parks off of Remington Avenue between Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) and East Perkins Avenue. More specifically, they'll be located on East Oldgate Street, Fallen Timber Drive and Heritage Drive. • Type: Plans show the homes differing in build, ranging from single-family to ranch and even two-story. "The houses will look different on the outside but similar on the inside. Square footage is approximately 1,250 to 1,350 square feet," said Janik, explaining how they'll feature three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a single garage. • Price: Janik said the purchase price will fall somewhere in the $200,000 range. • Timeline: If all goes well, construction should begin later this month with the first houses going on the market in October. The construction of the remaining houses will be staggered as the already-built houses sell. • Investment: The project partners want to put in $5 million, an amount privately financed. As of today, no local government source is committing funds for this initiative. • Need, part 1: "Not long ago one of my children bought a house in Sandusky and discovered just how hard it is to find affordable housing," Janik said. "Having strong ties to the area, we saw an opportunity to provide Sandusky with much-needed affordable, new home construction." • Need, part 2: "In response to the unprecedented shortage of available homes for sale in Sandusky, I am ecstatic to be the trusted real estate partner for this new construction home project, aimed at addressing the urgent housing needs of our community," Craig said.