A significant chunk of property in northeastern Oxford Township changed hands on June 29 and the new owners plan to use it to help and house foster youth.

The Detroit-based House of Providence purchased the 118-acre Hunters Ridge Hunt Club property, located at 3921 Barber Rd., near E. Davison Lake Rd., for $800,000, according to the property transfer affidavit filed with the township.

Located at 3442 McDougall St., House of Providence “exists to be a safe and secure option for Michigan’s foster youth,” according to the nonprofit organization’s website www.thehouseofprovidence.org.

Founded by Jason and Maggie Dunn, who live in Clinton Township with their eight children, the goal of House of Providence is to “provide a therapeutic and familial environment for minors (in the foster care system) who are languishing without the prospect of a permanent family of their own,” the website states.

This reporter reached out to the Dunns and, while they were unavailable to speak last week, they agreed to sit down for a formal interview on July 6 to discuss in detail their organization, the youth they serve and their plans for the Oxford property. That interview will appear in next week’s edition.

During an interview on a television program entitled “Comcast Newsmakers,” posted on YouTube in September 2015, Maggie Dunn explained that currently, House of Providence only serves females, but with the new “therapeutic campus,” as she called it, in Oxford, the organization plans to expand its services to include males and disabled foster youth.

Dunn told the interviewer because it’s a “much more bucolic area,” Oxford is a better setting than Detroit for foster youth who are dealing with “instability” and struggling with “so many mental health issues.”

During the interview, Maggie Dunn said House of Providence is licensed by the state and works with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which only refers girls it feels are “a good fit for our program.”

“Really, our only criteria is that they have to want to be there,” Dunn told the interviewer. “If they want to be there, they don’t have to be perfect. They can have horrible days, which we all do.”

Girls housed at House of Providence are currently being educated via the school district’s Oxford Virtual Academy (OVA).

According to Andrew Hulbert, executive director of the OVA, they’ve been teaching House of Providence youth online for three years now.

“The first year, there was only one student,” he said. After that, multiple students have been served by OVA.

Students at House of Providence do not receive a higher level of service compared to other OVA students.

“They’re really treated just like any other student that would come in,” Hulbert said.

While House of Providence and the Oxford school district have a relationship, it is not a contractual one.

“We do not have a signed contract with (House of Providence), nor have we ever had one,” said Superintendent Tim Throne. “We provide some form of educational service for kids (living in) many areas (throughout) the entire state of Michigan through OVA.”

House of Providence’s move to Oxford isn’t expected to change its current relationship with OVA, according to Hulbert.

“From what I understand, they’re going to stay virtual and stay completely the way they are today,” he said.

It should be noted House of Providence, at this point, has not filed any applications with the township nor has it submitted any plans for review and approval.

“Ultimately, it’s all just chatter until they submit something,” said township Planner Brian Oppmann, who works for the Ann Arbor-based Carlisle/Wortman Associates. “Until something’s submitted, it’s not official.”

Oppmann confirmed he met with Jason Dunn about a month ago to discuss the property, the organization’s plans and what would be required by the township.

“They had a lot of questions about it – what they could do,” he said. “They just wanted to know what the processes were to do what they want to do.”

The Dunns are planning to house foster youth in “typical, single-family, residential-style (ranch) houses,” according to Oppmann.

“There’s nothing unique about them except for what’s occurring in there – the foster care,” he said.

However, because the property is currently zoned agricultural with minimum lot sizes of 20 acres, each new house that’s built would require a lot split and each house would have to sit on its own 20-acre parcel, according to Oppmann.

Also, if House of Providence plans to house more than six foster youths on its Oxford property, Oppmann said the organization would be required to seek special land use approval from the township planning commission.

A special land use request would require the planning commission to conduct a public hearing.

“It’s just like daycares,” Oppmann said. “Daycares (with) one to six children, you could do it right out of your house without any problem. Once you go above six, then you need a special land use. It becomes a little more commercialized and it becomes an issue with traffic generation and things like that.”

“Once (the Dunns) submit (plans), they’re going to have to show how many kids (would be housed there),” he noted.

In addition to submitting a site plan, applying for lot splits and seeking special land use approval, Oppmann said the township would also need to verify House of Providence’s licensing through the state.

Oppmann noted the informal meeting he had with Jason Dunn is the same type many potential developers and applicants have with himself and other township officials prior to a project being submitted.

He explained his role is simply to provide information and he’s “not advocating for this.”