More Chattanooga apartments were approved by city planners on Monday as a builder won the OK for 115 additional units in a project off Old Hixson Pike.
Pratt & Associates received rezoning of the 5-acre tract at Old Hixson Pike and Gooden Road by a 6-to-3 vote of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission.
Company President Win Pratt said in a phone interview that there's room for more apartment construction in the city.
"There's still demand," he said, though he didn't have a start date for work on the units.
Pratt said the new apartments would be combined with an existing 48-unit complex next door.
Late last year, Pratt acquired the 48-unit Magnolia Apartments in Hixson for nearly $3.7 million. Built in 1986, the Magnolia complex at 5225 Old Hixson Pike is adjacent to the 30-unit Oak Wood Estates, which Pratt built in 2018.
The City Council still needs to endorse the planning commission's action approving the rezoning Pratt sought from residential R-1 to R-3.
Mike Price of MAP Engineers, who represented Pratt, said the buildings for the new apartments wouldn't go higher than three stories.
"Pratt's interested in doing a quality development," he said. "We think this plan will be an enhancement to the area."
But the regional planning agency staff recommended only permitting construction of about 64 new apartments. John Bridger, the planning agency's chief, said the issue had to do with transition from multi-family units to nearby single-family houses.
"It's a matter of how you handle transition," he told the planning commission.
Greg Chamberlin, who lives on Gooden Road, asked the panel to deny Pratt's rezoning request. He said he and neighbors had concerns about traffic and noise pollution due to the planned apartments.
"We looked at this as quite a peaceful area," Chamberlin said. "It would be very disturbing to the neighborhood."
Also, he was worried about a drop in property values, and he sought single-family houses rather than apartments.
Price said the tract is narrow and couldn't hold a road and houses on each side. He termed Old Hixson Pike "an underutilized stretch of road" that could handle more traffic. Price also said that the proposed 115 units fits the area's plan as it relates to density.
In addition, he said, the new apartments combined with the existing units would create enough density to make is feasible to put in amenities such as a pool and clubhouse.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.