Developer presents ‘Southbrook’ master plan; council told city infrastructure costs about $3.56M
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Summary
Developer David Horwath presented plans for a mixed‑use project called Southbrook, projected to include about 400–500 housing units and various commercial uses; city infrastructure improvements tied to the project were estimated at about $3,560,000.
Developer David Horwath told the City Council the project formerly referred to as DCC is now named Southbrook and will include a mix of housing types and a new neighborhood center intended to be built over a 10–15 year timeframe.
Horwath said the 80‑acre site could contain roughly 400–500 housing units and house about 1,250 residents once complete. He described a diversity of product types — for‑sale townhomes and houses with a small potential rental component near the neighborhood square if a qualified rental partner can be found — and said the development team intends to hold to architectural standards enforced by a third‑party town architect in the development package.
Horwath discussed the development’s phasing and said the primary city infrastructure work tied to the project is road widening (notably Country Club Road) and replacement/relocation of a sewer force main that runs through the site. He told the council the city’s share of infrastructure improvements would be about $3,560,000 and that other partners would contribute. He said the project team anticipates beginning construction site work in 2026 and vertical construction in 2026–27 for early phases.
Council members asked about the phased approach, public costs, and whether public incentives had been required on comparable projects elsewhere. Horwath said similar developments have involved substantial local contributions in other jurisdictions but emphasized the economic impact his team projects, including an estimated construction economic impact “upwards of $1,000,000,000,” thousands of construction jobs and recurring tax estimates provided by the developer.
Horwath also presented traffic study assumptions the team used to forecast routing that would favor the nearby interstates and highway corridors rather than additional trips over Decatur’s river bridge. He said milestones in the development agreement will require the developer to meet performance obligations and that changes to the master plan would return to the planning commission and council.
No final council vote on incentives or infrastructure funding occurred at the session; the presentation was positioned as an informational update and pre‑approval discussion ahead of future agenda items.