A developer plans to put up about three dozen townhouses in Chattanooga off of a tract that for many years held a garden center and nursery on Hixson Pike.
Developer Gus Issa said Monday he’s looking at a sale price of about $300,000 each for the units which are slated to go up at 4527 Hixson Pike, where Southern Home & Garden had operated.
Plans are to start work early next year on the townhouse project, he said. The 2-acre tract won rezoning from commercial to urban general commercial from the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission on Monday. The City Council still must give final approval.
Issa said in an interview that most of the two-story units will have three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, though some may offer two bedrooms.
The townhomes will attract buyers who can’t afford to get into detached single-family homes, he noted.
“It will give them the opportunity to get into something new and something nice,” Issa said.
Allan Jones of ASA Engineering, who represented the developer, cited rising interest rates as a factor in increasing home prices. The Federal Reserve has hiked rates to quell inflation in recent months. According to Yahoo Finance, the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.6% last week. Last year at this time, the typical rate was 2.99%.
“We’ll see what the economy does and what the Fed does,” Issa said.
But he said he likes the Hixson area and its proximity to amenities.
“The Hixson area needs more like these,” Issa said.
Plans are to construct about three to four units at a time until the project is built out, he said.
According to the Regional Planning Agency staff, the 2005 Hixson-North River Community Plan has a goal to create younger homeowner and senior housing opportunities in that area.
The plan said that to promote more first-time homeowners and senior housing, there will need to be added sites zoned for housing units such as townhomes, flats and retirement facilities.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.