New neighborhood proposed in Nashville

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If all goes according to plan, later this year, a new neighborhood could be under construction in Nashville.

Steve Miller and Scott Mills are proposing to build up to 15 homes on 11.2 acres between Tuck A Way Ridge Drive and Coffey Hill Road. That acreage, which Miller and Mills bought late last fall, backs up to about 22 existing homes along those two roads and Old State Road 46.

Mills and Miller have sketched out 15 lots, ranging from 0.28 to 1 acre each, depending on where they lay in the hilly area. About half of them would be around a new, 1.5-acre lake that’s proposed to be built where a ravine is on the property.

The new neighborhood could be accessed from the end of Tuck A Way Ridge Drive, or via Woods Lane, a road that was platted but never built. Right now, Woods Lane is now “a bulldozed path, like a fire lane,” Miller explained. It would become an actual road and the main way residents would get to the new neighborhood.

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Four of the lots would only be accessible by crossing a dam at the end of the new lake. Four others would be reached from an offshoot cul de sac from Woods Lane, called Woods Trail, at the north end of the property.

The new neighborhood proposal will go before the Brown County Area Plan Commission on Tuesday, March 24. Mills and Miller will need to receive a positive recommendation from the APC, then approval from the Nashville Town Council, to build a new “major subdivision.” The project would then need a second round of approvals, after roads and other infrastructure pieces are in, before any homes could be built.

This is the first new subdivision of this size to be proposed in Nashville in more than a decade.

The partners’ vision is to create a quiet, hidden, nature-centered neighborhood that is “very green,” both in lot and home design.

“I think people will be scratching their heads, going, ‘Where is there 11 acres in town?’” Miller said.

“We intend to keep the property as natural as possible,” Mills added. “We want to attract individuals and families who value nature and want to live in a quiet, peaceful setting in Nashville.”

They hope to be able to get working on the roads and the lake and dam this summer, and anyone interested in building a home in this neighborhood could visit with Mills or Miller now if they wanted.

How much?

Mills is vice president of Brown County Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes in partnership with low-income people. He is aware of the need for “affordable” housing in Brown County — generally accepted as $150,000 or less — as well as options that appeal to a wide variety of buyers.

Mills and Miller don’t have hard numbers to share yet on how much it will cost to turn 11 acres of woods into a new neighborhood. However, because of the way the land sits, these probably won’t be entry-level-priced homes.

Hilly land tends to drive up the cost of building, because that means adding a basement, Miller said. Typically, Habitat-type homes are built on flat ground with no basement, Mills said.

“This (land) hasn’t been developed for a reason,” Mills said. “So, it’s going to be a challenge, and probably the cost of which is going to exclude Habitat, and the affordability issue is going to resolve itself when we know what our investment is at the end.”

Mills’ and Miller’s financial responsibility, besides the purchase they made of the land, would include building the lake, putting in the roads (Woods Lane, the road over the dam, and Woods Trail), and all utilities to the lots.

From talking with real estate agents, they’re hearing that “under $300,000” is what these homes could go for. However, making a lot of money on this project isn’t their primary aim, Miller said.

“We want to do as much as we can” to make it affordable, he said. “I’m slowing down in my world, and he’s retired from Purdue, and this is not our main job, to make a lot of money, so we want to do something we’re really proud of, really.”

Miller, an architect whose firm has designed many commercial buildings and homes in the county, is drawing up several proposed home plans that could be used in this neighborhood, with probable prices based on his knowledge of local contractors’ costs. That’s not to say that a buyer would have to use one of those plans, but the neighborhood needs to be planned carefully so that as much of the woods are preserved as possible, and that the homes make sense in their visual aesthetic and their connection with nature, he said.

The neighborhood will include covenants, which haven’t been decided upon yet.

Connections

Miller and Mills are hoping that building this new neighborhood will boost Brown County in multiple ways.

All lots will have high-speed internet, which could allow people to live here and work from home, providing more income tax revenue for the town and county.

Brown County Schools leaders would like to see these homes bring in more families with children, Mills said.

Part of the vision is to build trails in the neighborhood. Ideally, with this area being so close to the Brown County Schools campus, trails and sidewalks could be connected and extended so that kids could walk to school, Mills said.

The neighborhood also sits between two new entertainment destinations: the Brown County Music Center (across State Road 46 East from this parcel) and Hard Truth Hills (across Old State Road 46).

Attracting more residents to the county, especially young families and professionals, and expanding housing options are among the goals listed in the Brown County Economic Plan, completed last year.

While planning this neighborhood, Miller and Mills also were mindful of the neighbors already in Coffey Hill and Tuck A Way. They have talked to a few already. Their plans include green space buffers behind the homes that will back up to this neighborhood, as well as putting in more fire hydrants to serve the area.

“I don’t think either of these people (Coffey Hill and Tuck A Way residents) knew anything would ever happen to this land, other than letting the turkeys and coyotes sort of have it,” Miller said. He described their vision for the neighborhood as “a wildlife habitat that people live in.”

“Everybody we’ve talked to seems to be pretty optimistic and excited about the whole thing,” Mills said.

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Steve Miller and Scott Mills are available to answer questions about this proposed neighborhood, walk people through the property and talk about possible home options and prices.

Miller can be reached at Miller Architects, 104 S. Jefferson St. in Nashville, or at 812-988-7461.

Mills’ number is 812-391-0545.

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