Some of the young trees in the Honey Grove subdivision are suffering this summer. (Photo taken July 19, 2026)
The streets have been paved, trees have been planted, and even the mail boxes are ready in the Honey Grove Subdivision in East Albany. Houses will come next.
In May, the Albany Planning Commission approved a request by developer Matthew Conser to reduce the required side yard setback of houses in the subdivision to 3 feet and the side street setback on a few corner lots to 7 feet.
On a visit to the subdivision off Three Lakes Road on Sunday, I found the streets and sidewalks completed but no vertical construction yet.
Someone had sent me a message saying some of the newly planted trees in the development seemed to be dead. All the trees there, along Zachary Street off Three Lakes Road and a couple of side courts, were supplied with water bags around their trunks. Some were fine, but a few others did seem to be drying out.
As approved by the city earlier, the Honey Grove layout shows 41 single-family lots to be developed first, and a 140-unit apartment complex as a second phase. (You can find the approved layout at the end of the May 18 planning commission agenda here.)
In a filing this spring, the developer said:
“Consistent with the approved subdivision framework, the Honey Grove neighborhood is intended to include a variety of housing types. Illustrative home plans and site layouts may be provided for conceptual purposes; however, the final housing mix will be determined by market conditions while remaining within approved density and zoning allowances.”
During the May 18 hearing on the side yard changes, according to the minutes, Conser told the planning commission that the intent of the subdivision was to introduce a new entry-level housing style similar to middle housing being developed in towns such as Newberg, McMinnville, Woodburn and Forest Grove, and this style met the need of the entry-level home buyers.
Commission member Ted Bunch Jr. asked what these homes might cost. The minutes say Conser “reiterated that these were entry level homes, with smaller lots and modest sized homes, but there was no way to identify the price point at this time.”
Buyers will find out what an entry-level price is when they want to acquire a Honey Grove house. (hh)
Mail boxes are ready along Zachary Street in the Honey Grove subdivision.
Typical developer double speak. They want zoning concessions for entry level homes, but then only commit to “market rate” housing.
So all this new housing out there and street improvements yet from Three Lakes to Grand Prairie? That road can’t handle the traffic the way it is. It’s become a shortcut for South Albany residents to Home Depot and Walmart.
I meant to say “no” street improvements to Grand Prairie.
That will only benefit the wealthy and city and county employees.
It will not help blue collar workers or Seniors.
I am over e paycheck away from homelessness.
Good point on traffic.
It’s sad what they are doing to this wonderful place we live in They put their plans in and then change them. We live at the end of Noah in SE There was a wonderful red barn next to us. Now they are tearing it down to build triplexes Everyone in this area bought because it was single family homes. Not fair
There was a wonderful field next to that wonderful red barn before houses were built and all of you moved in.
The contractor who puts in the trees I’m sure doesn’t get paid according to how many trees make it. One bag of water for several months while waiting for the next phase of construction….to say nothing about when the future date will be that someone will buy a home next to the dead trees….is not conducive to all the trees making it. Especially with the weather we now have in this world…it’s 90 degrees in the mid-Willamette Valley on July 21st at 11 p.m. Yes, 11 p.m…..not 11 a.m.
I live in an older Conser subdivision in Millersburg and many of the trees planted adjacent the streets have pushed up the sidewalks resulting in expensive repairs to be made by the homeowner. Many of the trees are flowering plum, which also make a mess on the sidewalk. The problem is that the trees are required by the building code. Many of the trees have mysteriously disappeared.
Putting this type of development in E. Albany where existing infrastructure can support it makes a lot more sense than in N. Albany. I would guess these entry level homes to be priced between $399,000 and $429,000.
Modest-sized homes? How about affordable for the younger crowd?
If they are changing the setback from 5′ to 3′ and building the same number of units(41?)
Are they going to increase the square footage of each house?
More money for the builder and city.
Not a fan of the 3′. I’m in Lexington Estates, and most houses seem to have 5′ on one side and about 10′ on the other, which is nice to have in a subdivision.
Wonder what the housing is going to be like at the end of Goldfish Farms over by Walmart.
A side yard set back of 3 feet means 6 feet between houses? If there is a fence it means a home owner essentially has 3 feet of dead space between the fence and the wall of their home. That is barely enough room to push a lawnmower through between back and front yards.
Problem solved! There won’t be enough space for a lawn to worry about mowing. Kids don’t go outside to play anymore anyway. Also, grass isn’t “environmentally friendly” in our new water deprived world.
You are right on all counts, so “You Are The Man”….rather than being “Not the Man!”
Setting entry level pricing currently is no win for them. If they say 350K is entry level, people will freakout saying; “That is outrageous!!!, entry level is 200K.”
Will these be homeowner association neighborhoods? That will cost some extra money on top of their mortgage.
Who is the Zachery, Andy and Stephanie persons so named for these streets? Famous Albany citizens? Pioneers of our town?
I’ll hazzard a guess they would be names of family or relatives of the developers…
Conser Family is known for naming streets after family members…look at many street names in Millersburg subdivisions done by Conser.
If these homes are two bedroom two bath 1200 or less square feet they would serve a good purpose. You can have two children sharing a bedroom. Later might want to go to a larger house. Another market beyond small families would be older people. I’m aware that a two bedroom one bath or two bath is a nice choice as it’s a much more manageable size and a small yard might be a bit of a blessing. I hope this development will be keeping the homes small and affordable. You don’t necessarily live there forever.
when you add up the cost of the lot itself, then add permit fees, the affordable goes away