A 124-acre project that would bring more than 100 new homes to the city and clear the way for more commercial development is one step away from being approved.

Located on the southeast corner of Western Row and Mason-Montgomery Road, the Alverta project would rise up from the site of the former Western Row Golf Course, which has been dormant since 2007.

The residential portion of the development is set to include 50 acres of residential use, including 123 single family lots, according to a preliminary development plan submitted to the city.

The remaining 74 acres are designated for commercial development, including 542,000 square feet of office space, 45,000 square feet of office/retail space, 40,500 of retail space and 10,000 square feet for restaurant use, according to plans.

A vote by Mason City Council to approve the project following a Feb. 11 public hearing during council’s next meeting would rezone the land from single family residential to mixed-use planned unit development and approve the concept planned unit development plan.

The project first went before the city’s planning commission in December and to city council for a first reading in January.

Western Row Land Developers Inc. is selling the land, but there are no developers for the commercial aspect of the site yet, according to Mathew Walker, vice president of acquisition for MI Homes of Cincinnati LLC, which is developing Alverta’s residential portion.

“The landowners are marketing the extra area at this time,” Walker said. “We’re just helping zone the entire property for the family and working through building parts of the boulevard and our residential section.”

Details are still be worked out for the homes, such as layouts and included features, he said.

“We think that there’s an opportunity to market ranches and two-story homes to the market,” Walker said. “It’ll be a little bit of both.”

MI Homes is “extremely excited” about building in the city of Mason, Walker said.

“We think it’s a great opportunity to offer housing within the remarkable Mason school district,” he said.

Construction on subvision streets and lots is expected to start this summer, with delivery of the lots by late fall and construction of the houses starting in late fall or early winter. The first homes should be ready occupancy by sometime in 2014, he said.