Influx of Residents Creates a Residential and Commercial Boom
business, chris o’neal, commercial, community, fox ridge homes, jim dooley, maury county, real estate, real estate market, residential,
Mix together a wide range of housing options‚ excellent schools‚ an affordable cost of living and proximity to a major city‚ and the result is a community ripe for commercial and residential growth.
That’s Maury County.
Once known mainly for its prime farmland‚ this scenic spot is one of the fastest-growing regions in the state - a burgeoning hub for shopping‚ education‚ employment and health care.
“We have just in the last three or four years ventured into Maury County‚ which we think is an area of outstanding growth‚” says Chris O’Neal‚ sales manager for Fox Ridge Homes‚ a residential developer with three communities in Spring Hill. “We don’t see that pace slowing down.”
The numbers tell the tale. Jim Dooley‚ Maury County assessor of property‚ says the number of new structures built in 2006 should easily top the 2005 figure of 907 when the tally is complete. The same goes for deed transfers‚ which were about 4‚500 in 2005.
“Generally the real estate market‚ commercial and residential‚ appears to continue to be active and values appear to continue to increase‚” Dooley says.
In fact‚ property values appreciated about 9 percent from 2005 to 2006‚ he says.
O’Neal believes homebuyers get a lot for their money in Maury County‚ and Fox Ridge’s developments offer a variety of choices‚ from about $160‚000 for first-time homebuyers to $330‚000 for estate homes.
The new Royalton Woods subdivision features large sites and homes from 2‚500 to 4‚000 square feet.
“You can literally get a 4‚000-square-foot home here in Maury County‚ right across the Williamson County line‚ and the difference can be somewhere between $80‚000 and $100‚000 from what you would pay in Williamson County‚” O’Neal says. “In my mind‚ Maury County is one of the best values in Middle Tennessee.”
Todd Burchell of Burchell Properties‚ a commercial real estate leasing and development firm‚ agrees.
“I think Columbia is ideally situated‚” he says.
Already receiving rave reviews is Burchell’s The Shoppes at Neely’s Mill on Trotwood Avenue in Columbia. The attractive retail hub is the renovation of a 174‚000-square-foot shopping center built in the late 1960s. Burchell added a new 9‚000-square-foot retail space‚ he plans to add another 9‚500 square feet‚ and he’s developing outparcels on the 24 acres.
“I tend to like to purchase older properties that need renovation‚” he says. “It was a proven retail site for 30 years that just needed some attention. There never was any doubt in my mind that the community would support it‚ given where it is. It’s in close proximity to two-thirds of the rooftops in Columbia.”
Burchell also renovated the former Parkway Lanes bowling alley on Nashville Highway into the Parkway Plaza retail center‚ and he renovated another shopping center‚ now called Hamilton Plaza‚ between Columbia and Mount Pleasant. He plans to break ground on another Nashville Highway retail development in the summer of 2007.
“Columbia has a lot to offer‚” Burchell says. “People are choosing to live here‚ and businesses are choosing to be where the people are living.”
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
Photo by Greg Emens
