McGhehey homes target first-time buyers

Work is well underway at Park Place. photo by Jim Cornelius

New roads are being paved this week as part of a $6.9-million project that will add 40 homes in a new Sisters subdivision called Park Place.

The developer, Steve McGhehey of Redstone Construction Services in Sisters, owns the 7.4 acres of property near the Tamarack Village apartments on Larch Avenue on the north end of town.

McGhehey is paving two new streets -- Black Butte Avenue and Song Bird Loop. He is also building an extension of North Fir Street.

Ranging in price from $165,000 to $195,000, the wood frame houses include eight townhomes and 32 regular homes. The $195,000 home is 1,900 square feet with four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.

Each home is one of five floor plans, which include single and two-story homes with double, attached garages and either two or three bedrooms.

McGhehey said he is targeting first-home buyers, who can't offer a large down payment, but want a home with a landscaped yard, automatic sprinklers, a back-yard fence and a nearby park. All of the Park Place homes will have these features.

"These are turnkey homes," McGhehey said. "They have a yard, a sprinkling system, a fence, and a tree in the front yard. A lot of first-home buyers struggle to get these details so we went ahead and put them in."

The development is located alongside a planned city park.

The houses will also feature 500-square-foot concrete patios, wood shutters on the front window and dishwashers.

McGhehey said he has pre-sold seven houses to firefighters, investors, and employees of Multnomah Publishers.

Foundations have already been poured on three houses and some walls have been built. The three houses should be complete in 60 days, McGhehey said.

McGhehey was a co-developer of Pine Meadow Village. He said he also developed seven homes last year on East Cascade Avenue on the northeast side of town.

"It was a similar price and floor plan, so I know the concept works," McGhehey said. "I built and sold them in nine months."

Construction on the homes and streets is slated for completion in two years, McGhehey said.