"When there's water and sewer available, you can count on something is going to happen," Byron Township Supervisor Donald Tillema told residents at a June 2026 board meeting. He was talking about the corner of 84th Street SW and Burlingame Avenue SW, near Byron Center High School. The corner is likely to be developed. The open question, still unsettled this October, is the form it takes. For buyers with a budget under $500,000, the form matters most.
The only new-construction plan in Byron Center pitched in the $400,000 to $500,000 range is attached housing that the township board has tabled, revised, and sent back for more review. Byron Center's new homes for sale today start higher than that, in the high $400s and up. Most buyers know the median price. Few know that the most affordable new product in town is still waiting on a vote.
The Price Range That Exists Only On A Site Plan
The proposal first appeared in public coverage as Eastbrook Homes' plan for 25 single-family condos and 72 townhomes on the southwest quadrant of 84th and Burlingame. Kelly Kuiper, Eastbrook's manager of land planning and entitlements, told the board it would offer ownership in the $400,000 to $500,000 range. She said the homes would serve "the families who teach in our schools, provide health care, work in local businesses, serve as first responders."
Since then, the project has moved slowly:
- June 22, 2026. The board approved the underlying multifamily rezoning 7–0. It then voted 5–2 to table the separate planned unit development request, which governs what can actually be built.
- July 27, 2026. The board tabled the PUD for the third time, saying feedback from the township planner still had to be addressed.
- August 10, 2026. The board unanimously took the request off the table and sent it back to planners. Trustee Jay DeKleine said the changes to Paramount Development's plans had "all been for the better," but the board agreed that the number of revisions still needed to be checked against the township ordinance.
- September 21, 2026. The Planning Commission scheduled a public hearing on Paramount Development Corp.'s request for the "Commons at Walnut Ridge" PUD. The site is a 16.11-acre tract at 1738, 1750 and 1778 84th Street SW.
The September version is a different mix. According to the legal notice published in the Grand Rapids Press, it calls for seven unattached terrace homes, 25 unattached villa condominiums, 28 rear-load attached townhomes and 32 two-story attached townhomes. That comes to 92 homes at an overall density of 5.92 units per acre. The notice gives no prices. We could not find any report of the Planning Commission's recommendation from that hearing as of early October. We also could not confirm whether Eastbrook remains the builder on the revised plan. For now, the price range is a pitch from June, attached to a plan that has changed since.
What The Builder Ladder Starts At Today
Here is what a buyer can find in Byron Center new construction right now, set against the county benchmark:
| Option | Location | Advertised or reported price | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attached townhomes and condos | 84th St SW and Burlingame Ave SW | $400,000–$500,000, as pitched in June 2026 | PUD under review; no approval |
| Alden Grove, detached | Byron Township | $467,000–$994,900 | Selling; Phase 2 final plat approved September 14, 2026 |
| Walnut Ridge, detached | Byron Township | $471,000–$889,900 | Selling |
| Kent County average sale, all residential | Countywide | $432,575 in August 2026 | Closed sales |
The lowest advertised entry into these two detached communities is about $35,000 above what the average Kent County home sold for in August 2026, according to the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors' August report. Builder prices are list prices on live pages, and they change, so treat them as a snapshot. Back in September 2025, Eastbrook said Walnut Ridge had one final phase of 51 home sites coming and only a few sites remained at Preservation Lakes and Cook's Crossing.
That price gap is why 84th and Burlingame matters beyond one corner. It is the one plan in public view that would add new owner-occupied homes below the detached price floor.
Why The Board Keeps Asking For Changes
Most of the objections on record are about how the plan fits together. Few are about whether housing belongs on the site. Horizon Community Planning, the township's planning consultant, found the site appropriate for denser housing. Its May review called the plan "a missed opportunity to create a more fully connected and integrated neighborhood pattern." It said the layout "functions largely as an isolated enclave rather than as part of a broader connected neighborhood framework." DeKleine summed up the board's view in June: "A PUD should be a win-win-win. And it's not."
Traffic comes up at every meeting, and the numbers cut against the usual assumption. A commercial project with a grocery store, gas station and retail had already been approved for the site. A traffic study projected about 9,200 daily trips for that plan. The residential proposal was projected at about 700.
The board's decision a month later down the road explains why buyers shouldn't assume approval. On July 27, 2026, it unanimously denied a request to rezone 58 acres at 8900 Homerich Avenue from rural agricultural to suburban residential. Neighbors raised concerns about traffic near Byron West Middle School and at the Homerich and 84th Street intersection. Trustee Scott Tubergen put the board's position plainly: "We're not Flint where we're just dying for housing units here."
Put together, the township is approving detached subdivisions it already planned for, such as the Alden Grove Phase 2 plat. It is moving slowly on projects that ask for more density or a zoning change. That sorting decides which price points get built.
The Sewer Line Is The Leading Indicator
Tillema's comment about water and sewer was more than a passing remark. In Byron Township, sewer capacity has expanded as housing and commercial growth arrived, and 2025 reporting described a trunk sewer serving the township center as nearing capacity. The final phase of the Northwest Trunk Sewer runs along 64th Street between Ivanrest Avenue and Byron Center Avenue. Construction was planned to start in March 2026. By the August 10 board meeting, Montgomery Construction was wrapping up and starting to repave, with base coats and a damaged culvert replacement expected by the end of September.
The rules have changed too. On September 14, 2026, the board unanimously approved a full restatement of the Byron Township zoning ordinance, which took effect September 29. Board members described it as a code cleanup that folds site-condominium standards into the ordinance. They did not present it as a change to density limits. When sewer service is in place and the code is current, the remaining variable is the board's judgment on each project.
What This Means If Your Budget Tops Out Near $500K
A buyer shopping Byron Center under $500,000 is mostly shopping resale today. The attached new-build option is a possibility with no confirmed price and no confirmed timeline. Detached new construction starts in the high $400s and climbs quickly from there.
The county market gives buyers a little more room than it did this summer. Across Kent County, average days on market for closed residential sales rose from 16 in July 2026 to 21 in August. Current listings went from 1,094 to 1,141, and months of inventory based on pending sales moved from 1.6 to 1.7. These are county figures. A Byron-specific breakdown for the same months wasn't available in the public reports we reviewed. Still, the direction gives buyers more time to compare a resale home against a builder's base price plus upgrades.
Some practical steps:
- Compare finished price against finished price. A builder's "from" number is a base. A resale home near the same figure may already include a finished basement, landscaping or window treatments that a new build would add later.
- Follow the 84th and Burlingame agenda items. Township board and Planning Commission agendas and minutes are posted through the township's minutes and agendas page. That's where a recommendation and a final vote will show up.
- Factor road work into commute testing. The Kent County Road Commission's 2026 program includes mill-and-fill work on 84th Street from Homerich Avenue to Byron Center Avenue.
Quick Questions Buyers Keep Asking
Has the 84th and Burlingame townhome project been approved? Not as of the latest confirmed action. The township board sent the PUD back to planners on August 10, 2026. A Planning Commission hearing on the revised "Commons at Walnut Ridge" plan was scheduled for September 21, 2026, and we could not find a reported outcome.
Will those homes really cost $400,000 to $500,000? That range was presented for the earlier 97-unit plan in June 2026. The revised 92-unit notice lists no prices, so the range is a pitch, not a price sheet.
Did the new zoning ordinance make denser housing easier? Board members described the September 2026 restatement as a cleanup that incorporates site-condominium standards. They did not describe it as a change to density limits.
If you're trying to decide whether to buy a Byron Center resale home now or wait for the 84th and Burlingame vote, Polaris Real Estate can compare the current resale homes in your range against builder base prices and upgrade costs with you. Ask Us Anything.