A Knoxville homebuilder broke ground Tuesday on the first of three new subdivisions it plans to build in Ooltewah and Cleveland as the company expands its East Tennessee footprint to help fill the region's housing gap.
Turner Homes LLC, a family-owned building and real estate firm that has operated in the Knoxville area since 1971, is entering the Chattanooga market by developing a 118-unit subdivision known as James Creek at 6725 Ooltewah-Georgetown Road and will soon break ground on another 211-unit residential development known as The Wellington up the road a couple miles in Ooltewah.
To market the new Ooltewah developments, as well as another subdivision Turner Homes plans to build in nearby Cleveland, an affiliated real estate company known as Woody Creek Realty opened a new office in Ooltewah on Tuesday.
"This is a growing region, and there is still an unmet need for housing, especially new housing that is more affordable," Turner Homes President Andrew Fraser said Tuesday during the groundbreaking ceremony for the James Creek subdivision. "We continue to see people move into this region, and we're trying to meet the need for more housing here."
The homes in James Creek are expected to be priced from the low $300,000s to the mid $400,000s, depending upon their size and options. The 118-home neighborhood will feature floor plans from 1,362 square feet to 2,363 square feet, according to the Turner Homes' website.
Staff Photo by Dave Flessner / Chris Jessen, director of Chattanooga operations for Turner Homes LLC, talks Tuesday about the 118-home James Creek subdivision planned on Ooltewah Georgetown Road in Ooltewah.Turner Homes gained approval in 2022 to rezone a 27-acre cow pasture between Ooltewah Georgetown Road and Interstate 75 to build James Creek, which will include 50 single-family houses and 68 townhomes built around a small park. Part of the 27-acre site was sold for Two Rivers Church in Ooltewah to build a new church building.
"We've been working on this project now for about two years, and we're excited to begin building homes here this summer and, hopefully, have some ready for occupancy by the fourth quarter," Chris Jessen, who is overseeing Turner Homes operations in the Chattanooga area, said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
The Wellington subdivision is on 66 acres 2.5 miles to the north on Ooltewah-Georgetown Road.
"We should start moving dirt there by late summer," Jessen said.
In Cleveland, Turner Homes is working on developing another subdivision near Lee University, he said.
Jessen, who has lived in Chattanooga for the past decade and currently lives in a subdivision just across the street from James Creek in Ooltewah, joined Turner Homes two years ago. The Knoxville-based company is working on 18 projects in the Knoxville and Chattanooga areas with a total of nearly 2,000 homes.
"There is a real demand for housing in this area, especially at the price points we're trying to offer to appeal to first-time buyers and those wanting to downsize from larger homes," he said.
In the aftermath of the 2008-09 housing downturn and the supply chain problems during COVID-19, housing construction has not kept pace with demand, especially in growing communities like Chattanooga and Knoxville, he added.
"The Chattanooga area is in the midst of a housing shortage, and Turner Homes looks forward to being a part of the solution of providing attainable housing for a growing city," Jessen said. "This area is close to both Chattanooga and Cleveland near I-75 and is just a few minutes from Ooltewah and all the amenities being added in the Collegedale and Ooltewah area."
David Dees, a real estate agent for Woody Creek Realty LLC who lives in Ooltewah, is the community sales manager for the company that opened a sales office at 6108 Ooltewah-Georgetown Road.
Woody Creek Realty will be the exclusive real estate agency for the new Turner Homes subdivisions, but as independent real estate agents, Woody Creek Realtors also will be able to market other properties.
The Ooltewah and Collegedale area is one of the fastest growing communities in the Chattanooga area. The 2020 census showed Collegedale was the fastest-growing city in the region in the previous decade, growing its population by more than 34%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Census.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.
Staff Photo by Dave Flessner / Leaders of Turner Homes LLC gather for a groundbreaking Tuesday for the 118-home James Creek subdivision in Ooltewah. The Knoxville homebuilding company is also planning to construct a 211-home subdivision known as The Wellington in Ooltewah and another housing development near Lee College in Cleveland, Tenn.