New residential ideas mulled along Snyder Road
A new plan to develop property at 11645 Snyder Road as mixed-use residential was introduced to Farragut Planning Commission during its Thursday, July 20, meeting.
Developer Tony Sorace with Novu Residential Group of Birmingham, Alabama, said his group is looking to develop the 14-acre corner property near Outlet Drive across from Lazydays RV (formerly Buddy Gregg RVs & Motor Homes) as either apartments or a mix of detached and attached housing.
Planning Commissioners, such as Ed St. Clair and Vice Mayor Louise Povlin, favored the mixture of detached and attached housing.
Mayor Ron Williams, also a Planning Commissioner, said the property used to be a junkyard.
“They wanted to get a temperature of the Planning Commission, give some ideas, thoughts and recommendations,” Sorace’s attorney, Taylor Forrester, said.
“We have a legal interest in this property,” Sorace said. “We wanted to gauge your all’s input as we move forward with a potential workshop session next month — August — to get with you all on a potential rezoning for a multi-family development.
“We are a Class A multi-family developer, focused on the Sunbelt,” he added. “Knoxville is a market we want to be a part of, especially in the Town of Farragut.
“With this specific property, there is some interesting characteristics — or unique challenges — with it, as far as the topography and there are some potential grading of the unique features of the property … closed depressions,” Sorace said. “We will focus and try to improve … and cluster on the center of the property while the western portion of the property and the southern portion of the property maintains open space for recreation.
“I believe the Town of Farragut has a hiking and bike trail north of Snyder Road,” he said. “We would have resident access to that. Hopefully with the re-development of the Campbell Station/I-40 interchange, have further pedestrian cycle access to Turkey Creek trails.”
Sorace is looking at developing a “traditional multi-family development —apartments — similar to the density of The Overlook at Farragut or The Tapestry at Turkey Creek or a second option, a “fully mixed residential development, where we may have one traditional multi-family building, located more in the center of the property, and as we come toward the boundaries of the property, come with a lower-level attached, potentially detached housing along Snyder Road.”
“If you look at occupancy rates, there is a need for this type of housing within this specific location,” he said, noting Tapestry at Turkey Creek and The Overlook at Farragut are each more than 98 percent occupied.
However, Vice Mayor Louise Povlin, a Planning Commissioner, warned, “You know this is going to be controversial in this town. We’ve seen a lot of development happen in a short period of time.
“I’ve always tried to indicate to our residents that we cannot control pace of the development,” she added. “We have zoning ordinances and land use plans, but when property owners chose to exercise their property rights, that’s on them. And, that’s why we have a land use plan.”
Community Development director Mark Shipley said the property currently is zoned R-1, and the Future Land Use map had been amended.
“Because of its physical characteristics, it’s Open Space Cluster and Open Space,” he added. “There is an apartment to the immediate east and the school further up Snyder Road.”
“If you are using 14 acres, that translates to 168 units,” Povlin said. “Of course that corridor is our entertainment corridor.
“So, I have concerns, questions,” she added.
“We would love to see it properly developed,” Williams said.
