Standing in the sunlight outside the first completed house in Painesville’s Highland Park development, City Council President Jim Fodor used an umbrella to remark on the city’s current fortunes. “If you were here for the groundbreaking, you needed one of these due to the fact that it was raining,” he said. “Luckily, today what you need it for is the sun, and I think that that is kind of symbolic of how things are going in Painesville.” Fodor was among a group that included local officials and builders who gathered on Oct. 24 to celebrate the completion of the 1,750-square-foot dwelling, which is located on a formerly vacant lot at 73 E. South St. It is the first in a series of houses that Payne and Payne Builders plans to build on vacant land in the area. The house faces the street with white siding, black trim and wooden accents. It includes a main level and a basement, with a two-car garage out front. Payne and Payne Division Vice President Brett Dawson said that the house includes two and a half bathrooms and either three bedrooms or “two beds and a den,” depending on how the space is used. “It’s got some unique trim details, we did some paneled walls, it’s got a vaulted great room ceiling, which I think are some of the really nice features about it,” Dawson said. He believed that the price was set around $399,000 as of the Oct. 24 event, though he added that the price was still being finalized. Visitors tour the first house in Painesville's Highland Park development at an Oct. 24 ribbon cutting event. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)The kitchen in the first house in Painesville's Highland Park development is on display during an Oct. 24 ribbon cutting event. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)A bedroom in the first house in Painesville's Highland Park development is on display during an Oct. 24 ribbon cutting event. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Show Caption1 of 3Visitors tour the first house in Painesville's Highland Park development at an Oct. 24 ribbon cutting event. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Expand While visitors celebrated and toured the new house, Payne and Payne’s second planned house for Highland Park sat with its wrapping visible at neighboring 83 E. South St. Dawson said that the company began framing work there earlier in the week, and it hopes to complete that house in April. After finishing that house, Dawson said that Payne and Payne will turn its attention to South St. Clair Street. The company is looking to build three houses there on vacant land northwest of the intersection with East South Street, and it hopes to break ground early next year. He added that Payne and Payne is also working on development plans to build houses on vacant land along the south side of East High Street, between South St. Clair and Liberty streets. He did not have a timeline for that phase at the Oct. 24 event. “We’re still targeting that kind of 1,400 to 2,400 square foot home,” Dawson said, later adding that the company is looking to price the houses in the upper-$300,000 to mid-$400,000 range. Payne and Payne is also considering ideas for the former Lake East Hospital site between East High Street and East Washington Street. “That’s kind of future, figuring out what’s going to go there,” Dawson said. “We’re looking at townhomes, homes, maybe single family. It’s a little off, we’re going to kind of figure this one first.” A concept plan for the Highland Park development in Painesville is on display during a ribbon cutting event for the development's first house on Oct. 24. The former Lake East Hospital site is pictured to the north, on the left, while the first house, at 73 E. South St., and the second house, under construction at 83 E. South St., are pictured to the south, in the middle of the right end of the map. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)The second house in the Painesville Highland Park development is pictured at 83 E. South St. on Oct. 24. Payne and Payne Builders Division Vice President Brett Dawson said that the company hopes to complete the house in April. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Payne and Payne President Eric Payne speaks on Oct. 24 at a ribbon cutting event for the first house in the Highland Park development in Painesville. The house is located at 73 E. South St. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Show Caption1 of 3A concept plan for the Highland Park development in Painesville is on display during a ribbon cutting event for the development's first house on Oct. 24. The former Lake East Hospital site is pictured to the north, on the left, while the first house, at 73 E. South St., and the second house, under construction at 83 E. South St., are pictured to the south, in the middle of the right end of the map. (Bryson Durst -- The News-Herald)Expand Fodor described new housing as “a piece of the puzzle” for the city. He and other local officials pointed out that it is one of many changes happening in Painesville. “We’ve got a lot of commercial reinvestment happening, we have industrial reinvestment happening, now we’ve got premier residential reinvestment happening in the city,” said Assistant City Manager Tony Zampedro. “That’s due in large part to Payne and Payne and the vision they see that is in Painesville and where we’re going.” The gathered visitors also heard from other local officials and Payne and Payne President Eric Payne. “I grew up in the area and have watched the resurgence of Painesville,” Payne said. “We are really excited, very impressed with what’s happening in Painesville and very proud to be a part of it,” he added later.