Frank Brock

Staff Photo by Tim Barber
Developer Frank Brock, standing center, gives Lookout Mountain (Ga) Mayor Tommy Gifford, right, a prepared statement concerning his proposed retirement village at Thursday's council meeting. City Clerk Dana Driver, left, sits next to the mayor.

The developer trying to build a senior living development on Lookout Mountain, Ga., has decided to look elsewhere.

Former Covenant College President Frank Brock has been working with a group of investors to develop a 96-acre project known as Chapelbrow near the college. The mountainside complex could include a 60-unit assisted-living center, up to 160 residential lots and a site for commercial development.

Mr. Brock, who noted that he has no financial stake in the project, said Thursday he's grown impatient over the 18 months since the development's proposal.

"We're just going to go ahead on our own," he said. "The city would have to come to us and say, 'Please don't go ahead,' because we plan to basically go ahead outside the city."

Developers still want to build a senior living community on Lookout Mountain, Mr. Brock said, but he didn't say where.

The city still is developing a comprehensive development plan, which may not allow for the Chapelbrow in its proposed location, a planner said.

Nashville planner Phil Walker, hired for the planning process, suggested in September that development be centered around the future town center, at the intersection of MacFarland, Lula Lake and Red Riding Hood roads.

The plan has not been completed, but City Councilman Sandy Gothard said he hopes to see a draft completed in December, with its adoption in early 2010.

Mr. Brock called the comprehensive plan a "no-growth plan," and if passed, Chapelbrow will not exist within the town.

If constructed outside of the city limits, Chapelbrow likely would take on a new name and appearance, Mr. Brock said.

"It would have to be totally redesigned," he said.

Mayor Tom Gifford said he hopes the city's development plan will allow flexibility "not necessarily for Chapelbrow but for senior living" within the town.

If Chapelbrow is built on another mountain location, Mr. Gifford said the city still would face obstacles with traffic and sewage -- two issues raised by opponents of the development.

"If it goes outside the city limits, you get all those things and no income and no control," Mr. Gifford said.

City Councilman David Bennett said he is waiting on the comprehensive development plan to be finished before he decides whether to support Chapelbrow.

"We really shouldn't be considering any specific development as we're doing the land planning process," he said. "It needs to be a pure process."

Though Chapelbrow has definite opponents in the community, Mr. Bennett said most people agree on the need for senior living options on the mountain.

"The question is what size and where it's going to be," he said.