Pine Lake Reserve Plans for ‘Very Busy Spring’

COLUMBIANA, Ohio — With two houses under construction and a third ready to break ground next week, the residential development at Pine Lake Reserve II is back on track.

At this time last year, the development on Harbour Lights Boulevard had 34 single-family home lots available and was being developed by Charles Zidian Jr. Zidian is the developer, project manager and contractor for Pine Lake Reserve II, and partner with Pine Lake Development LLC, which closed on the purchase of the development Jan. 6, 2020.

Exactly one year later, six lots have been purchased for single-family villas and Zidian is getting creative with a few others.

He’s converted four of the lots at the front of the property near state Route 7 into three, where he plans to build quadplex residential units. Named Chablis, the quads start at $309,900 and will feature great room with cathedral ceiling, kitchen and dining room, two full baths and two full bedrooms with a flex room, he says.

“I’m going to break ground on the first one come this spring,” Zidian says. “Quads are going to be a great value and it’s going to be a great opportunity.”

One of the single-family units currently under construction is expected to be completed by March. Though not built on lakefront property, the 1,730-square-foot house was designed to prominently feature the lake, he says.

The buyers permitted Zidian’s team to design the house with a partial wraparound patio that extends from the front of the house, which doesn’t face the lake, to the side of the house, providing a clear view of the lake from that vantage point. His builder and foreman, Ben Johnston, did and oversaw the framing for the house, interior carpentry work and outside stone work.

“It worked out awesome,” he says. “Everywhere they sit in this house, they’re going have a view of the lake.”

At just over 1,730 square feet, the total cost for the lot and house construction was just shy of $400,000. A second home under construction nearby will likely be completed in June or July at a total cost of $500,000.

Next week, Zidian looks to break ground on a third house, which he expects will be completed by August, he notes.

COVID-19 posed the biggest obstacle to moving the project forward, Zidian says. He had the owners purchase materials ahead of time, “because we were being told what normally takes one to two weeks for material was taking four to six weeks,” he says.

Jobsite photos include the front and side view of the wraparound patio, interior framing for the kitchen, a view of the lake from the patio, and workers Jacob Henderson, Tyler Boykin and Tyler Kinkade from NDC Heating & Cooling, New Waterford.

Bricks, windows and even drywall nails were, at one point, hard to come by, he says. Lumber was also delayed, but Zidian preordered the lumber and trusses from Custom Prefab Contractors Inc., North Lima, and Tri State Lumber Suppliers in Columbiana.

“They stayed true to us and got us our lumber, so we are very, very happy,” he says.

Zidian was getting “a lot of interest” in the development until COVID-19 hit, he adds.

“It kind of put us to a halt for a good solid 90 days,” Zidian says. “But things slowly started picking up and we finally are now where I thought we would be like three, four months ago.”

Interested buyers are coming in and looking through the development, including those who voiced interest in early 2020, but postponed plans because of the pandemic. Now that people can “get a feel” for the development, it will make things easier with promoting it, he says.

“I’m getting a ton of activity,” he says. “I’m getting a lot of calls from people from out of state – Illinois, Florida, Chicago. I’m expecting a very busy spring here.”

Richard Martin seconds that. The chief zoning inspector for Beaver Township is particularly enthusiastic about the progress at Pine Lake Reserve. And while he doesn’t have exact figures yet, 2020 was on track to be “another one of those record-setting years” for residential construction, comparing it to 2018 or 2019 when the township completed 34 new home builds.

After 2016, housing builds “just let loose” as the economy improved. Even with the pandemic making it a challenge to acquire building materials, the contractors “still wanted to get the projects going,” Martin says.

This year is “anybody’s guess,” Martin says, but he has high hopes for residential and commercial projects in the township.

Pictured at top: Charles Zidian Jr. stands outside a house under construction at Pine Lake Reserve II.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.