Urban infill in the Rust Belt is becoming a booming business. Consider the case of Knez Homes in Ohio, which is expanding. Crain's Cleveland Business reports:
Knez Homes, a Lake County builder with urban projects in Cleveland and a ubiquitous lower West Side presence, is tiptoeing into the Akron new-home market.
A self-described boutique home builder, Concord Township-based Knez is close to selling its first house in Akron's Highland Square neighborhood. That to-be-built home is at 141 Marvin Ave., one of three vacant lots it bought from the city's land bank program. The other two are at 145 Marvin Ave. and 321 Grand Ave. However, at least one larger project of scale is also in the formative stages.
Knez is marketing colonials designed to fit the streetcar-era context of the neighborhood that's home to a Mustard Seed Market, Highland Theatre, restaurants, nightclubs, lots of singles and a short commute to downtown. With a median home price of $122,000 this spring, according to the Trulia website, listing prices for existing houses range from $260,000 to as little as $20,000, and there are oodles of vacant lots.
