Chattanooga businessman Larry Armour recalls there was little in the area around his 50-acre Collegedale development when he and his partners started work about 15 years ago.
"We've seen a huge change," Armour said about the tract that now holds a Wal-Mart, medical offices, restaurants and other businesses in the rapidly growing Collegedale area.
Armour has started work on the second phase of his Parkway Professional Center office condo project on Little Debbie Parkway -- what's nearly the last undeveloped parcel of his development.
When complete, the $7 million Parkway Professional Center project will join the other development on the 50 acres, which Armour estimates will total between $70 million and $80 million.
The office condo addition already has a buyer for about a third of the added 12,000 square feet, he said. Dr. Callie Doyle has a need to expand her dentistry practice which is located in phase one, Armour said.
"She outgrew her facility," he said. "We didn't want her to move off."
Doyle's husband, Tobin, said the practice is buying 3,800 square feet and designing the space so it will have the most efficient and advanced office.
"The practice has been phenomenal," he said, adding that it started about two-and-a-half years ago. "Business demanded more space." Dr. Doyle does general dentistry, implants, in-house crowns and full-mouth reconstruction.
Armour said the balance of the project is for sale, with completion slated in April.
The first 14,200 square feet at Parkway Professional Center opened in the second half of 2009 with a new office by orthodontist DeWayne McCamish serving as an anchor. McCamish and Chattanooga businessman Nelson Bowers are partners in the project with Armour.
Armour noted that Collegedale is growing quickly.
"Since our initial investment into Collegedale, we've seen retail sales double and a high demand for professional services," Armour said.
Collegedale's population has jumped 43 percent since 2000, making it the fastest-growing city in Hamilton County and one of the quickest-growing in the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Census.
Collegedale has seen not only business growth but apartments and retirement living facilities.
Key employers such as Southern Adventist University and McKee Foods Corp., producers of Little Debbie snacks, call the city home. Nearby, the Volkswagen auto assembly plant, which started production in 2011, is under expansion with 2,000 more employees expected to be add.
In addition, Amazon's Enterprise South industrial park distribution center has about 2,000 full-time employees.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.