Middlesex Township supervisors voted Wednesday to grant final land-development approval to Amber Grove, an 89-unit townhome complex planned on roughly 19.8 acres along Route 228 near the Weatherburn Drive intersection. The move clears a major local hurdle and opens the door for subdivision work and final site preparation while the developer chases remaining county and state permits.
Board signs final approval
At the July 15 meeting, the board approved Resolution 2026-14 (Final Land Development) and Resolution 2026-15 (Final Subdivision) for the Amber Grove plan, according to Middlesex Township. The agenda lists the project in the township’s SR-228 overlay district as 89 townhouse units on a 19.8-acre parcel.
What the plan includes
The approved layout clusters townhomes across the 19.8-acre site, replacing an earlier mixed-use concept. Local reporting notes that county records show the developers bought the parcel from the De La Torre family in August 2020 for $275,000. As reported by Butler Eagle, the original submission paired 52 townhomes with commercial space before the plan was revised.
How the plan changed
The shift from mixed-use to all-residential followed a dispute over road access and a change to the township’s Route-228 overlay rules, which together led the developers to drop the commercial portion. That timeline and the legal back-and-forth are detailed by The 228 Times, which notes the lawsuits were withdrawn after the developer submitted a revised plan.
Permits and next steps
The township’s planning commission had already given its final sign-off on June 24, a procedural step recorded in Middlesex Township. County materials reviewed during the process also flag outstanding items, including NPDES stormwater permitting, that the developer still must secure at the county level, according to Butler County.
Legal fallout and why it mattered
The core dispute centered on whether Amber Grove should physically connect to the neighboring Sienna Village community. During the review, the township’s overlay ordinance was amended to clarify connectivity rules, a change that reset what the developer could be required to build and helped bring the litigation to a close after the plan was revised, per reporting by The 228 Times.
What residents can expect
With township approvals in hand, the timeline now hinges on county and state permits and broader market conditions. Township and developer comments at recent meetings suggested construction staging and marketing could follow once the remaining permits are in place. Nearby Sienna Village will remain a separate development with private roads, and planners say the all-residential Amber Grove design should generate less traffic than the original mixed-use version.
