Selecting a sustainable suburban infill site

My wife and I love Oakwood, Ohio - and moved here from Portland, OR in 1999. Oakwood is situated on a hill directly south of the City of Dayton, an approx. 7 minute commute to my office in downtown.


In 1913, when a disastrous flood devastated downtown Dayton, people sought the “Far Hills” as a place to escape the risk of being flooded again. One of Oakwood’s earliest residents was Wilbur and Orville Wright, the inventors of the airplane whose stately home still stands nearby.


A developer purchased the 15,000 sf English Tudor mansion (1921 wedding gift to George Mead and Elsie Talbott Mead) and carved Little Woods Rd into the 7 acre property. The subdivision created 3 new lots, all three of which are sold.

Oakwood is a very unique and livable community.  Excellent schools, and everything one might ever need within walking distance.  We were drawn to the west side due to the rolling hills and retreat-like quality of the property - special indeed given how close we are to the city.  The approach up Little Woods Rd. via automobile is a vertical ascent, with a horizontal visual release at the top of the road out to Hills and Dales Park.  The house needs to be oriented with a visual release towards the view of the park.


The sustainable aspect involves the selection of an already developed site, and carving a "site within the site".  This approach beats building further and further out into the suburbs where resources need to be continually extended to reach you.  The infrastructure of this established community already exists and is mature - we are just tapping into it.  The LEED rating system provides credit for this approach through development density and community connectivity.  Other than not building at all, the next most sustainable approach to finding a home construction site is to carve one out of an existing site.

1) the site, 1.3 acres
2) the new Little Woods Rd and cul-de-sac
3) neighbor's lot, plans are to start construction here this year
4) neighbor with Frank Lloyd Wright inspired house, built in 2008
5) the original Mead Estate, built in 1921
6) the late Architect David Niland designed this house. I studied under Professor Niland at the University of Cincinati and toured this house in 1994 when it was owned by the French family.