A 32-home plan in Buffalo Township geared toward older buyers could be welcoming residents as soon as late September.
About nine months after getting final site plan approval from township supervisors, builder Ryan Homes has started courting families looking to downsize for the development off Sunset Drive.
Prices for the single-family, one-story dwellings start around $350,000, and buyers can choose from five layouts. Each lot is about a quarter-acre.
The cul-de-sac lies just a few minutes from Route 356 and Route 28, as well as Buffalo Plaza and a Butler-Freeport Community Trail access point.
Work on two model homes is underway. Three other move-in-ready homes will be constructed and occupied within months, according to Ryan Powell, sales manager at Ryan Homes.
While anyone will be welcome at Pine Ridge, Powell said it’s geared toward seniors looking for less space and fewer maintenance responsibilities. The company’s so-called lifestyle line is its top seller in the region.
“There’s a lot of move-down buyers in Pittsburgh,” Powell said. “They’re looking to downsize a little bit and simplify their life.”
At Pine Ridge, the homeowners association will arrange and pay for grass cutting and snow removal for each property. The site contractor will manage the association to start before turning it over to the residents, who would be free to add, remove or alter services, Powell said.
On its website, Ryan Homes touts features common in many upscale builds, such as stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. It also lists more than a dozen accessibility-oriented features, such as shower seats, lowered light switches and higher electrical outlets.
The dwellings will be served by public water and sanitary sewer systems, and stormwater runoff will be managed on-site. Township officials have granted a zoning change from industrial to residential to make home construction on the previously undeveloped site possible.
A short drive up Route 356, Miranda Homes is working on its Laurel Hills development, which received approval from supervisors in June. The 29-acre plan, which connects to the Twin Oaks neighborhood, has space for 62 single-family lots and 41 townhomes.
Twin Oaks got its start in 2017 and most recently expanded in 2022 by adding 99 lots. Ryan Homes is considering further expansion, according to Powell.
Supervisor Gary Risch said multiple other home builders have approached the township in recent years. When an existing home hits the market, “it doesn’t last two or three days,” he said.
He attributed this demand to the township’s minimal safety concerns and well-staffed police force as well as the draw of the Freeport Area School District.
The construction boom also has spread to neighboring South Buffalo, where RIDC Armstrong Innovation Park is slated for a 90-home complex.
Risch welcomes the flurry of development.
“We need to get more rooftops so we can entice more restaurants and more businesses to come in,” Risch said.
Jack Troy is a TribLive reporter covering the Freeport Area and Kiski Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on Penn Hills municipal affairs. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in January 2024 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh. He can be reached at jtroy@triblive.com.