A Chattanooga developer plans one of the largest new apartment projects in Hixson in a move to meet the demand in the growing area.
He has slated up to 250 apartments to go into the project, which is estimated to cost between $40 million and $50 million, developer Kevin Boehm said.
"There certainly is a need in that market," he said in a telephone interview last week after the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission approved rezoning a tract at 6814 Hixson Pike from R-1 Residential to R-3.
In all, Boehm said he's purchasing up to 15 acres on mostly vacant property not far away from Thrasher Pike.
He said the complex could go up to three stories in height depending on the layout of the units.
"We're still exploring," the developer said, adding it was too early to know how many bedrooms the apartments will hold.
If rezoning receives final approval later from the city council, work could start late this year with the first units opening in 2024, he said.
"Hixson is one of those markets experiencing a lot of growth," Boehm said.
Another Chattanooga developer announced this summer a $20 million Hixson apartment development, also on Hixson Pike.
Mike Price, owner of MAP Engineers, said Pratt Living plans to build and own that proposed complex, which would hold 180 units at 6000 Hixson Pike. He said the development would have one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
He said five apartment buildings and two smaller structures for townhouse-type units would go up on the parcel that currently has a few single-family homes on it, Price said.
Another new complex nearby, the Lullwater at Big Ridge Apartments, had its grand opening earlier in 2021 for 250 units, Price said by phone at the time.
New apartments are coming online as national real estate investment groups continue to buy into Chattanooga's rental market and bid up the prices paid for local complexes and rental rates charged to renters.
More than $600 million of apartment buildings in Hamilton County were sold in 2021, a record high that is triple the level of activity from four years earlier.
"Apartments are cheaper in Chattanooga than many other markets, even with the increases we have had in rental rates," said Robert Fisher, a commercial real estate agent for Keller Williams Realty who tracks the local market.
Boehm also is active in the East Main Street corridor near downtown Chattanooga.
Earlier this year, he said he had bought nearly 10 acres off East Main Street, where he plans to put up an array of housing and create one of that area's largest new residential and commercial projects.
Boehm said the purchase of several Chattanooga Boiler & Tank Co. parcels near downtown for $7.6 million will be coupled with about 5 acres of adjacent property he already owns.
The new tracts straddle both sides of East Main between Central and Holtzclaw avenues and they are to hold primarily townhomes and apartments, he said.
Boehm said it's too early to know what rents will look like on the proposed Hixson Pike project.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.