A series of housing developments targeting Eastern students are in the making near Wal-Mart off Route 16.

To accommodate resident wishes, rising Eastern enrollment and a desire for commercial development appeal, the proposed Mergant housing complex’s adapted plan was approved by the Board of Zoning and Appeals last week.

A petition containing more than 900 signatures of residents opposing development north of the 2300 block of Shawnee led to the original plan’s denial, Mayor Dan Cougill said.

Residents petitioned the location, claiming the student-targeted complex would be too close to a predominantly single-family home area.

Mergant redeveloped its proposal with land near Wal-Mart as the potential site.

“It is a pretty significantly sized development with a lot of new up-scale housing,” Cougill said. “BZAP approved it conceptually.”

Cougill said the plan’s concept involves a complex of single-story apartments, duplexes and a recreation area over more than 30 acres of land.

“They basically looked at the plan and asked: ‘Is it a decent plan?,’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Is the concept okay?,’ Yes.’ ‘Does it fit the comprehensive plan?’ ‘OK.’,” he said.

Mergant’s plans occupies 36.7 acres of the more than 200 acres of property in that area.

Proposals conceptually approved by the Board of Zoning and Appeals are subject to a series of adjustments before earning all approval necessary for development.

“If they are going to build, we have to check into the road plans,” Cougill said. “The roads have to tie into the rest of the property and accommodate future developments.”

Roadway proposals, commercial and future development availability are all necessary in forming a successful development plot.

“There will be at least 2, 3 more trips to BZAP before it reaches council,” Cougill said.

Mergant’s development would join the Educational Development Commission’s planned complex east of Wal-Mart, which was approved last April.

The Educational Development Commission’s plan calls for single-story developments designed to house primarily college students, lots for future commercial development and a roadway system that can adapt for other upcoming developments are included in the project.

“They are probably a couple months away from breaking ground,” Cougill said about the Educational Development Commission’s project.

Though the residential areas will most likely be open to anyone for tenancy, they are designed primarily for students.

“It will be a benefit for students, they likely have lived with convenient amenities and they probably don’t want to spend four years without their own bedrooms and bathrooms,” Cougill said.