Regions Southeast
Mixed-Use Project with 1.2M SF of Retail in the Works for Chattanooga Area
May 19, 2008
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Opus South Corp. has just revealed plans to develop Hammond Creek, a 168-acre mixed-use project that will center on 1.2 million square feet of retail offerings, in Dalton, Ga., near Chattanooga, Tenn.

Opus secured the parcel that will become home to Hammond Creek through real estate services firm Colliers Spectrum Cauble-Atlanta. The live-work-play destination will sit 30 miles south of Chattanooga, fronting the North Dalton Bypass off Underwood Rd. The vast retail segment of the development will be built in three phases, with apartments, senior housing and a small segment of office space to be constructed in subsequent phases.

Opus spotlighted Dalton for a master-planned development because of a dearth of shopping options in the area, which is experiencing a growth spurt; three new schools have been built within a five-mile radius of the project. Hammond Creek will not only provide sorely needed retail for the community, it will also offer a new option for those in the Chattanooga area, as well as patrons from the northern suburbs of Atlanta, about 90 miles south of the project. To accommodate increasing local traffic and in-bound travel, a new four-lane parkway will be built that will connect the North Dalton Bypass to Highway 71.

Already, news of Hammond Creek has attracted retailers eager to establish a presence in the growing area. Opus is working with a store to serve as a grocery anchor in the first phase of the project, and National Softlines department stores have an expressed interest in occupying anchor positions for Phase II. Construction is on target to begin next year, with development of additional phases continuing over the next five years.

Based in Atlanta, Opus South is a division of Minneapolis-based real state development firm The Opus Group. Over its 27 years in existence, Opus South has developed more than 27 million square feet, and presently has a portfolio with an additional 4 million square feet under construction or in the planning stages. Among those projects currently taking shape is Suwanee Gateway, a mixed-use project about 35 miles outside of Atlanta that will encompass over 1 million square feet of retail, residential, office and hotel offerings on 148 acres of land, part of which was once home to the training facility of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

 
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