Heritage Harbor in Ottawa breaks ground on Navvy Town

Heritage Harbor in Ottawa has broken ground on Navvy Town, a new development tailored for vacation homeowners and second buyers named for the settlements that sprang up around the Illinois & Michigan Canal.

Architect Kevin Donovan said there will be 41 single-family homes and 12 multi-family sites. Homes will have mostly two bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, and what makes Navvy Town unique is the lack of roads.

“It’s going to have wider walkways conducive for golf carts and walking,” Donovan said. “When you get here, you’ll leave your car in a parking lot in a dedicated spot, then walk and take your golf cart around the whole time you’re here. We’re trying to encourage ways to get around the resort by not having to go to the car.”

Donovan said the lack of traffic will make the neighborhood a safer place for children with a campground kind of feel.

The neighborhood will also feature a packet house, another reference to the past communities that surrounded the canal, with pool and ping pong tables among other amenities.

Tom Heimsoth, a managing partner at Heritage Harbor, said Ottawa’s history has been important to work into Heritage Harbor. This new neighborhood is another way to pay homage to Ottawa’s history.

“It’s going to create a kind of camp feel where amenities at the center of the neighborhood are going to be bonfire pits, hammocks, bocci ball, and a splash pad,” Donovan said. “That’s the fun thing about this set of houses. These houses are actually designed to have more of a side yard than the other houses at Heritage Harbor.”

Tammy Barry, the vice president of sales and marketing, said Heritage Harbor’s relationship with the city of Ottawa is one of the things that has made the Heritage Harbor expansions possible. She named former mayor Bob Eschbach, Mayor Dan Aussem, City Engineer Tom Duttlinger and Ottawa’s Director of Economic Development Dave Noble as people essential to getting Heritage Harbor off the ground back when it was just a discussion in 2006.

Barry also recognized Dewey Wendt, who manages the construction and Pierre Alexander, director of marketing and product development.

Donovan said construction on six of the new homes will begin immediately and is planned to be finished by the fall.