A waterfall runs through property in Signal Mountain's new Flipper Bend development.Lots are now being reserved in Signal Mountain's new Flipper Bend development located near the top of Roberts Mill Road.
Flipper Bend is the biggest new residential development proposed on the mountain in the past five years. In 2012, Jack Kruesi proposed doubling the size of his Fox Run development on Signal Mountain with a new subdivision, the Wild Ridge at Fox Run, which he said would hold 199 homes and could eventually bring more than $75 million of new residential development to the mountain over a decade.
The Flipper Bend development will have a maximum of 200 homes, with an average lot size of 2 acres, said Jim Morrison, one of two local developers behind the project.
Morrison is a longtime developer whose other projects include the Union Stables and Eagle Creek developments on Signal Mountain.
"I don't think there's another development in the area that's like this one," said Travis Close, a Realtor representing Morrison and Randy Brooks of Flipper Bend LLC.
What sets Flipper Bend apart is the thought the developers have put into it, said Close. While many developers remove the majority of trees from property where they plan to build, the developers of Flipper Bend are planning to retain as many trees as possible on the property's nearly 400 acres, he said.
Morrison said 100 acres of the property will remain untouched.
Close said they're also working with the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy to treat and protect hemlock groves on the property from woolly adelgid, an invasive species that threatens to destroy the area's native hemlock trees.
One of the most unusual aspects of the development is that its first phase includes lots in sizes of up to 4.4 acres, Close added. Of the 44 lots in Phase One, about 10 are brow lots, some of which have waterfalls, he said. Lot prices begin at $85,000.
Several creeks run through the property, and some lots abut approximately 7,000 acres owned by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said Close. The majority of the property previously belonged to a couple who lives on Signal Mountain, and a secondary piece of adjoining property was acquired from another owner, he said.
There will be only one entrance to the gated community. It will be located off of Roberts Mill Road, between the old and new gates used to close the road during inclement weather.
The developers have held several community meetings for nearby residents, whose concerns include an increase in traffic on the two-lane Roberts Mill Road, which is steep and winding and is often closed during inclement weather. Others on the Flipper Bend Facebook page expressed concern about emergency response to the neighborhood.
Morrison said they are donating land and paying for work to improve the curve on Roberts Mill Road closest to the top of the mountain, near the development's entrance. The road improvements should help alleviate concerns about emergency response to the development, said Morrison, adding that all heavy equipment and dump trucks will access the development from the top of the mountain rather than using Roberts Mill Road.
A road to access the first phase of the development is currently under construction and should be complete by August, Morrison said.
The outdoor-oriented community will include a pool, clubhouse, fire pits in brow areas, and a more remote gathering spot for picnics and outdoor movies. The development will have its own trails and will also connect to existing trails on the adjoining state property.
"It's going to be resort quality when we finish this," Morrison said.
Construction of homes in Phase One is expected to begin by this summer, said Close. Morrison projects that first phase will take around four years to complete, if they sell about 10 of the 44 lots a year.
Located outside the town of Signal Mountain but within Hamilton County, the property is zoned for Nolan Elementary and Signal Mountain Middle/High School.
For more information, visit flipperbend.com or call Close at 488-1882.
Staff writer Mike Pare contributed to this story.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com