Construction of an apartment complex is underway off of Riverside Drive beside the Tennessee American Water company location Wednesday, July 17, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Despite an influx of other apartment additions in and around downtown Chattanooga, a Georgia developer is spending more than $40 million to construct a 280-unit apartment complex off of Riverside Drive near the Erlanger Health Center's main campus.
Southeastern Development, a 32-year-old real estate development and brokerage service headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, is developing a 19-acre site on the former Cannon Equipment plant near the Tennessee American Water headquarters into a complex of one- and two-bedroom apartments. The apartment complex, which is scheduled to be completed in early 2020, will include such amenities as a clubhouse, swimming pool and dog park.
"This has a great location near the Tennessee Riverwalk, close to downtown and Erlanger with plenty of parking and amenities," said Chris Senn, a vice president and senior member of the development and retail brokerage team for Southeastern. "These Class A apartments will be as nice as any in the market."
Although rental rates have not yet been set, Senn said pre-leasing activity should start by November and he expects the complex will attract a diverse array of tenants because of the facility's location and amenities. Known as One Riverside, the complex of five two- to four-story buildings is being built by Grand Oaks Construction, an affiliate company of Southeastern.
Construction of an apartment complex is underway off of Riverside Drive beside the Tennessee American Water company location Wednesday, July 17, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The apartments are being built on the site of the former Cannon Equipment plant, which shut down seven years ago after 75 years of operation. Senn said his company acquired the property five years ago, but had to demolish the old plant and clean up the brownfield site before construction of the apartments could begin.
The project is the first in the Chattanooga market for Southeastern, which builds apartments, hotels and retail stores across the Southeast. The company will soon open nnother riverfront complex known as One Riverwalk in Knoxville and Senn said the company is preparing to build another riverfront complex in Nashville.
One Riverside in Chattanooga is among dozens of apartment, condominium and other housing developments built in and around downtown since 2015 which collectively have added more than 6,000 units and student beds, according to developments tracked by the downtown development agency River City Co. Consultants hired by River City in recent years have said there was a shortage of housing and demand for more apartments and condos in the central city and nearby neighborhoods.
"These apartments will be unique and appealing and should attract interest from a lot of different people," Senn said.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.