The addition of more than 200 houses and the town’s first two parks are bringing more historic growth to the small town of Whiteland, which is already booming with recently announced industrial developments.
An expansion of the Saddlebrook Farms subdivision on Whiteland Road will bring 221 new houses and two parks to the town, both of which the town approved recently.
Whiteland is no stranger to large subdivisions. Several of this size have been approved in recent years. However, aside from the town’s new dog park, the parks in this addition will be the first in the town of about 4,500.
Arlington, Texas-based homebuilder D.R. Horton is expected to begin work on the first 15-acre park next year along with section two of Saddlebrook Farms South, said Norm Gabehart, town manager.
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Saddlebrook Farms is located on Whiteland Road, just east of downtown. The park will be tucked between the neighborhood and the Whiteland Fire Department.
Specific park features will be worked out by the town’s new administration next year, but D.R. Horton has committed to a $50,000 investment in amenities, Gabehart said. There are no immediate plans for the town to add to the developer’s investment, but that could change, he said.
“We think a $50,000 investment is a good place to start,” Gabehart said. “We don’t have a parks department yet. You have to find some horses before you get a wagon.”
The second 40-acre park will be developed later, following construction of Saddlebrook Farms North, which will be located across the street, on the northside of Whiteland Road.
There is no investment commitment or timeline yet for the second park, but the land is set aside for a park, according to development documents that have been approved by town boards, Gabehart said.
The documents show the neighborhood will be located on the southside of the property, nearest to Whiteland Road, and the park, including a large pond, will be located on the northside of the property. The developer also plans to add an eight-foot-wide concrete walking trail in the new neighborhood.
Plans for Saddlebrook North will be solidified sometime next year after more houses are built in the second section of Saddlebrook South, Gabehart said.
All of the new houses will look similar to those that are occupied and under construction in Saddlebrook Farms South, documents show.
The addition will include both ranch and two-story houses with detached garages on lots ranging in size from 8,700 to 10,000 square feet. With five styles possible, ranch homes in Saddlebrook Farms South start at $230,000 or $240,000, while two-story homes start at $260,000, $300,000 or $310,000, according to D.R. Horton’s website.
Across the two subdivisions, there will be 484 houses at about two houses per acre, documents say. Saddlebrook Farms South will top out at 263 houses when it is completed, and Saddlebrook Farms North will have 221.
Over time, the addition will likely add hundreds of students to an already rapidly growing Clark-Pleasant Community Schools. It is wrapping up construction on a new elementary school, set to open next fall, to accommodate the growth.
The town keeps Clark-Pleasant schools updated on housing projects so the district can prepare to grow along with the town, Gabehart said.
Town leaders have been preparing for housing growth, such as this, and industrial growth at Interstate 65 for the past several years, he said.
In the past three years, the town has paved 93% of its roads, grown its police department by 40% and moved its fire department to paid-standby from volunteer, Gabehart said.
“We didn’t wait to react (to the growth) we started before,” he said.
