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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Jasper Highlands adds fifth phase as rural, mountaintop living proves popular amid coronavirus pandemic

Thunder Enterprises founder John Thornton stands at the edge of a bluff view lot in the Jasper Highlands community on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, in Kimball, Tenn. The gated community located on Jasper Mountain is continuing to add infrastructure to new areas of development. / Photo by Doug Strickland
Thunder Enterprises founder John Thornton stands at the edge of a bluff view lot in the Jasper Highlands community on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, in Kimball, Tenn. The gated community located on Jasper Mountain is continuing to add infrastructure to new areas of development. / Photo by Doug Strickland Thunder Enterprises founder John Thornton stands at the edge of a bluff view lot in the Jasper Highlands community on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, in Kimball, Tenn. The gated community located on Jasper Mountain is continuing to add infrastructure to new areas of development. / Photo by Doug Strickland

Jeff Lloyd and his wife have lived most of their life raising their family and building a successful commercial contracting and facilities management business around the San Francisco Bay area.

But Lloyd, who had briefly lived near Knoxville 39 years ago as part of his work, says he maintained a desire to get back to East Tennessee, especially as he nears retirement.

“I kind of fell in love with Tennessee and its people back then and always had an interest in living there again,” he said.

After visiting potential sites for retirement in Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina and Tennessee, the Lloyds decided this spring to buy a lot atop Jasper Mountain in Marion County overlooking the Sequatchie Valley

“This is like a little slice of heaven up here and seems to be conducive to our way of thinking and living,” Lloyd said about the lot he ultimately bought in Jasper Highlands. “We made this decision to buy in Jasper Highlands just as COVID-19 was starting to bloom. How Tennessee has responded confirmed our decision.”