The first 270 homes are just the beginning. On the grounds of a shuttered general aviation airfield in Painesville Township, crews are laying pavement and prepping utilities for what's shaping up to be Lake County's largest residential development: The Villages of Casement, a master-planned community envisioned to eventually hold more than 1,700 homes.
According to Crain's Cleveland Business, which first reported that the project is now Lake County's largest residential development underway, the initial phase alone calls for 270 homes. But that's a fraction of what's on the drawing board. The master plan, as outlined by GD3 Ventures, envisions a central town center and community hub surrounded by mixed-use retail, parkway connector roads, bike paths, and a central park, all built around the more than 1,700 planned dwelling units.
The project is being executed through a joint venture involving GD3 Ventures, Loreto Development Company, and local land ownership groups, with site prep and paving work progressing through 2026, per the same source. Both companies operate out of neighboring Lake County communities, according to Opportunity Lake County.
From Private Airfield to Planned Unit Development
The development footprint sits on the former Casement Airport property, a private general aviation airfield established around 1961 that closed in 2000. The site is classified as a Flexible Planned Unit Development, setting the stage for the scale of what's now being built. The airfield operated for nearly four decades under R.W. Sidley ownership before it shut down.
Both the former airport and the broader site carry the Casement name, associated with John S. “Jack” Casement and Frances Jennings Casement, according to historical markers documented at hmdb.org. The Casement House is also associated with the Casement name.
Township Created New Financing Tools to Pay for Infrastructure
Building a town center of this size requires public infrastructure most township budgets aren't built to handle. Painesville Township trustees responded in late 2025 by establishing Tax Increment Financing and forming The Villages at Casement Community Authority as a New Community Authority, a mechanism records show was designed to finance public infrastructure and utility systems for the site. The authority is specific to the Villages of Casement.
That financing structure is already intersecting with state-level review. In June 2026, project filings for the Villages of Casement Pipeline Project were submitted to the Ohio EPA and state historic preservation officers, according to the Ohio History Connection.
Conservation Land Borders the New Neighborhoods
Not all of the surrounding acreage is being paved over. West Creek Conservancy acquired the 66-acre former Casement Club Golf Course in December 2024 to establish the Casement Springs Preserve, restoring 47 acres of Grand River floodplain adjacent to the housing site. Mowed trails saw limited event use in 2026, while public access is anticipated to begin that year, with some later trail work potentially extending into 2027, per West Creek Conservancy. The golf course had sat vacant since severe flooding hit in 2006, before conservation groups stepped in.
A Major New Development
The Villages of Casement would bring a large mixed-use town center to Painesville Township, with more than 1,700 planned dwelling units.
Residential density has already become a flashpoint elsewhere in the township this month. In earlier Hoodline reporting, Painesville City Council backed an annexation attempt for 28 township acres to allow a 97-to-102-unit Redwood apartment plan, over the objections of township trustees. That fight illustrates the kind of friction that can surface as Painesville Township and its neighboring city navigate competing visions for growth, even as the much larger Villages of Casement moves forward with its own infrastructure and regulatory steps already underway.
