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Luxury Subdivisions Take Root

OAKLAND TWP. - Step inside the model at the Kingsridge subdivision and the luxury surrounds you.

From the limestone floor and Roman columns in the two-story foyer to a lower level complete with a bar and home theater, the home at Silver Bell and Adams roads speaks of wealth.

Along with the subdivision's beauty comes substantial change for the once-rural township. The model has kicked off construction of The Oaklands, a 496-home, seven-subdivision project that's the most ambitious residential development in township history.

When The Oaklands, which includes Kingsridge, is completed in an estimated seven years, it will fill 400 acres of former farm land with home sites as large as an acre or more. That's room enough to include everything from 2,200-square-foot condominiums selling for $550,000 to 8,000-square-foot homes selling for $3 million.

"There's nothing like this," said Frank Moceri, president of Auburn Hills-based Moceri Development. "We have the diverse type of product range people are looking for. You have everything from the empty-nesters in the condominiums to the families that can live near to the grandparents."

That housing choice is accompanied by concerns of community leaders. There's the impact on school population, new demands on township services and an increase in traffic in an already growing area.

"It will be a very dense area," said township Supervisor Susan Hoffman. "We know that and it's something we never had in Oakland Township. We're kind of watching and trying to anticipate all the negatives that come with development."

Although it's the largest, The Oaklands certainly isn't the first residential development in the township.

Metro Detroit's northern population shift already has changed the character of a community trying to hang on to a controlled-growth philosophy.

"It's kind of gone from you know everybody in the area, you know which kids belong to who - (a) Mayberry setting," said Hoffman, a 15-year township resident. "The people in the township are becoming more sophisticated, professional. We're kind of losing a little bit of the type of community feel we used to have."

As for road congestion, township officials, in a way, are getting what they sought.

Faced a decade ago with the prospect of growth, they decided to concentrate available sewer lines in the township's southwestern sector. The idea was to create density there to preserve open space in the rest of the community.

Also part of the strategy is to encourage high-end developments - such as The Oaklands.

"If you have to look at development, that's a good development to look at," Hoffman said. "It will be a beautiful development. I will concede that."

The 5,000-square-foot Kingsridge model, which would sell for about $1.2 million, provides a hint of what's to be. Details such as a wrought-iron stairway railing in the foyer and heavy use of natural materials such as limestone are aimed at giving the home a traditional, European look.

The home features a cherry-paneled library, a bonus room above the garage and a retreat room off the master bedroom.

"It's so you have time to relax at the end of the day," Moceri said. "You get the kids off to bed and you can relax in your retreat area."

The home also makes heavy use of open space, including a 10-foot-by-15-foot master bathroom with a jetted tub and a walk-in closet that's the size of a small bedroom.

Traditional meets contemporary in the kitchen, where a flat, in-wall plasma screen allows a homeowner to watch television without using counter space.

With the downstairs theater and a stereo system that pipes music through the house, the Kingsridge model includes $80,000 in electronic equipment.

But much of the charm of Kingsridge - chosen community of the year by the Building Industry Association of Southeastern Michigan - can be found outside the model. Visitors are greeted at the entrance by an arched, brick bridge that spans one of several ponds with fountains.

"You have an instant impact," Moceri said of the spectacular entrance. "You have your own mark on the area. The people, when they drive down Adams, they're instantly wowed. They want to be part of the excitement."

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