36 acres of property in the village of Three Oaks that have been caught in limbo for over a decade are being sold by Berrien County to create a new housing development.

The board of commissioners has authorized the sale of the Schwark Drainage District property, at 6974 US-12, to Green Development Ventures for $305,000. Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette tells us Green, which constructs homes under the name Allen Edwin Homes, has been behind several residential developments in the county. That’s what they have in mind for the Schwark property.

“In approving the buy-sell agreement, we cannot guarantee that the developer will proceed with the housing plan,” Dissette said. “However, I think it’s a safe bet to say that there is a high probability that that is what will occur.”

Dissette says the county commission in 2024 authorized the purchase of the Schwark property, the site of a failed residential development back in the 2000s. The county drain commissioner had borrowed money to improve the land, but the treasurer later foreclosed on the developer for unpaid property taxes, leaving the county with $551,000 in debt. The county paid that off and has been trying to sell the land since and recoup the money.

“The sale of the property should bring to close an issue that’s been going on all the way back really to the late 2000s. So the housing crash occurred right around 2008 and this piece of property would have been tied to that crash.”

Dissette says the $305,000 sale price should pay off the bulk of that debt.

Green Development’s plan to turn the Schwark property into homes has the support of the Three Oaks Village Council. Dissette says a brownfield capture will be used to help complete the housing development.

Image from Google Maps.