Diversity comes to Lakewood’s housing stock after construction begins on Edanola Avenue home

A new home will join the small street of Edanola Avenue next summer after a local developer broke ground on it Monday.

Prairie Stone Group, led by Dana Paul, purchased the land at 1383 Edandola Avenue from the city earlier this year after being selected to build a new single family home on the property that Paul said will have a first floor that is “universally designed.”

“The first floor of this home is going to be ADA accessible but because in residential building there aren’t mandated requirements for things like that I’m really leaning more towards it being called a universally designed home,” he said. “It’s a home where the first floor will be completely adaptable.”

Paul said, for example, there will be a ramp to enter the home as well as a completely accessible master suite, which there aren’t many of in Lakewood.

“This house will be so unique to Lakewood because not many of the current homes here are set up with ramps for wheelchairs or even wide enough doorways to accommodate them,” he said. “We’ve thought about all of that and have even made modifications to things like the sink and the kitchen island that will make them easier to use.”

Paul said having built apartments he’s familiar with making units accessible and hopes to bring that knowledge to this home.

City Planner Katelyn Milius said the house being built on Edanola Avenue fits into one of the housing goals in the city’s Community Vision: supporting a variety of housing options that meet the needs of a diverse community.

“The proposed house on Edanola provides a living space for a family that may have had to move out of Lakewood or has had to live in a retrofitted old home that was only somewhat accessible,” she said. “We’re really excited to see Dana’s vision come to life, especially the ‘universal design’ features that will make a family’s life a lot easier.”

For more information on the Edanola Avenue house, visit http://www.lakewoodoh.gov/community-vision/housing/21st-century-housing/.