In 1997, he converted a former furniture store into an antique mall and a woodworking shop into an office-furniture store. This year, Snyder plans to renovate 109 N. Washington, a 2,500-square-foot Victorian home, into office space and build a 2,000-square-foot office building next door. He hopes to complete the project by fall.
Sprawl has spread to Oxford. More than 20 subdivisions are either under construction or planned for the village and township, and commercial development is close behind.
Why are developers building in the once barren burg?
Because they can.
"It's basic. You get growth where there is vacant land'' said Jim Rogers, manager of the data center at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
And Oxford Township has thousands of acres of vacant land and multiple undeveloped waterfronts. It's also within commuting range of employment centers such as Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Troy.
Deborah Schutt, executive director of the Oxford Community Development Authority, said the village is transforming.
Three restaurants, an antique shop and an office supply store opened recently. Now, several new commercial and office buildings are awaiting construction or expansion in the village and Oxford Township.
Oxford Bank Corp. recently purchased land next to its headquarters, between Stanton and Broadway streets, M-24 and Pearl Street. The site has two one-level buildings, but bank officials have begun a site-plan study to determine whether it should build a two- or three-story building, said President Randall Fox. ``We want to keep a significant presence in the expanding community,'' he said.
Grand Rapids-based Goodrich Quality Theaters Inc. also is planning to expand. President Bob Goodrich purchased the three-screen Oxford Cinema, on M-24 in the village, in 1997. He plans to add five screens with stadium seating and digital sound in an adjacent lot. Goodrich also plans to retrofit two of the old screens and renovate the lobby. He said the project could cost $2.5 million.
Part of Oxford's appeal is that it is ``somewhat untapped,'' Goodrich said.
Owner and investor Matt Jonna, president of Farmington Hills-based MJM Associates, agreed.
``Smaller towns are the future in undervalued assets,'' he said.
Jonna and his father, Edward Jonna, recently purchased a former hardware store at M-24 and Dennison Street. Although the project still is in the design phase, the Jonnas, with the help of Victor Saroki & Associates Architects P.C., hope to turn the 10,000-square-foot building into a retail center. The $300,000 to $500,000 project is scheduled to begin this summer and be completed by the end of the year.
Chuck Snyder of Dryden has been converting empty commercial spaces in downtown Oxford into stores and offices.
Snyder also is converting a former brake shop into a 5,000-square-foot office-furniture store and renovating the Crawford mansion, another Victorian home, into 2,800 square feet of class A office space. He plans to complete both this summer.
``I invest in areas that will grow and prosper and develop,'' Snyder said. ``Where there is land, there will ultimately be people.''
That's why residential developers are flooding the area.
There are 23 residential developments with 4,180 homes under construction or planned in the village or township.
John Weaver, a partner in Bloomfield Hills-based Real Estate Interest Group Inc., said the rural character of Oxford tends to attract new residents. He said other northern Oakland County towns, with water and sewer already in place, have been developed to their potential.
Real Estate Investment is building Waterstone, a mixed-use development on 1,400 acres and seven lakes just north of the village. The development straddles M-24, extending to just west of Granger Road, east almost to Oxford Road, north to Dunlap Road and south to Seymour Lake Road.
Waterstone includes 2,000 single-family homes priced at $150,000 to $600,000, a 27-hole public golf course and 75 acres of commercial development. The commercial property may include a small neighborhood shopping center west of M-24 and near the golf course.
Just east of M-24, Real Estate Investment Group is planning Market Street, highway-oriented commercial spaces and a 180,000-square-foot Meijer Inc. retail center with a historical village facade.
Construction on Waterstone began last fall and may be a 10-year project, Weaver said. ``In, say, five years we will be about 50 to 60 percent complete.''
Oxford Lakes, a plan of Oxford-based Lake Edge Development Inc., is a long-term project within village limits, on M-24 and Drahner Road. Lake Edge is building 455 homes on 100 acres. The project began in 1986, and construction manager Wendy Taube doesn't expect the $200,000 to $750,000 homes to be complete until 2004.
Village and township officials don't want to suppress the growth, but they do want to direct its course.
Oxford's Schutt said village officials are not courting franchise owners. Officials want unique shops and restaurants because they want to maintain a historic feel.
As an incentive, the Oxford development authority has established a loan program. Building owners can borrow up to $500,000 and tenants up to $10,000, at 2.5 percentage points below prime interest rates, to bring buildings up to code, make them accessible to people with disabilities and create a historical feel.
Schutt said lease prices are relatively low at $7 to $11 a square foot, compared with $12 to $14 a square foot in nearby Lake Orion.
Village officials are discussing the creation of a historic district, sign ordinances, nature trails and summer festivals that reflect the rural feel of Oxford.
They also are considering building a new elementary school and new township hall to accommodate the growth.
"In the last few years, you have seen malls being built up, but small towns were being missed,'' said, Victor Saroki of Victor Saroki & Associates Architects P.C. ``People want to live in a community again.''
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