Hundreds more apartments going up soon in Cleveland TN

FOR MORE INFORMATION

What: Brookes Edge Apartments
Where: 3925 Adkisson Drive, Cleveland, Tenn.
Contact: 423-244-0418
Online:www.brookesedge.com

Owners of the hilltop Brookes Edge apartment complex in Cleveland announced Thursday that the third and final phase of construction will commence this fall, taking Brookes Edge to just shy of 400 total units.

The complex's owners, Ohio-based Shumate Development, also announced plans to build a second set of apartment homes nearby on Paul Huff Parkway.

Melanie Wickman, community manager at Brookes Edge, said the Adkisson Drive complex has stayed consistently full since the first set of 180 apartments went up for rent in November 2013. She said Brookes Edge maintains a nearly 100 percent occupancy rate.

"We're just trying to keep up with the apartment demand in Cleveland," Wickman said. "It's growing leaps and bounds."

Brookes Edge offers resort-style living, with one- to two-bedroom apartments ranging from 782 square feet up to 1,170 square feet. Rents range from $815 to $995 a month.

At the beginning of this month, tenants started moving into the newly completed phase two units.

Phase three will round out the project and bring Brookes Edge up to 396 total apartments.

Located near Cleveland State Community College, Brookes Edge draws some local students, but the complex houses a variety of people in all stages of life, Wickman said.

Meanwhile, the new apartments to be built on Georgetown Road will add another 200 units to the Shumates' Cleveland portfolio, and construction is slated to also begin this fall.

Speaking to the broader growth of apartment living in Cleveland, Mayor Tom Rowland said Thursday that it really began around 2011, when The Retreat at Spring Creek opened its doors on 25th Street.

"It really surprised me how it filled up very quickly," said Rowland.

Like many smaller towns, Cleveland was without any very large apartment developments.

"The Retreat at Spring Creek was our first major development," he said.

Rowland attributed the city's growing demand for apartment options to a prospering local economy, with ample industrial growth from employers like Mars Chocolate North America, Duracell and Whirlpool Corp.

He also said, from anecdotal evidence gathered around the city, that probably up to half of those moving into communities like Brookes Edge and The Retreat are coming from out of the county.

Some of those people are coming for work, some for school and some for retirement.

Also, Cleveland serves as home for some workers employed in Chattanooga and nearby areas, especially with German manufacturer Wacker Polysilicon North America slated to open later this year just up the road in Charleston.

"The cost of living is low, and we're growing," said Rowland.

Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.

The Brookes Edge Apartments sit high atop a hill in view of Paul Huff Parkway and Interstate 75, at exit 27.

Photo by Tim Barber /Times Free Press.