Bridges Road Townhomes Granted Appeal to Build Project

Property off Mt. Carmel Road at Bridges Road can proceed forward towards construction, following a successful appeal of the county’s multifamily moratorium. The Bridges Road property will have new townhomes.

Henry County adopted a multifamily moratorium in January on new rezoning requests or building permits. Bridges Road was the second appeal in as many months requesting building permits.

Bridges Road Townhomes

Blue River Development submitted a rezoning request for the property in fall 2021. The land is located on the south side of Mt. Carmel Road east of I-75. The development consists of about eighteen acres. Henry County approved the rezoning in August 2022.

The development consists of 127 townhomes. The units will have rear-access alleyways and garages. In what has been described as ”horizontal apartments,” all units will be for rent. Representatives for the project previously estimated future rents at $2,400–$2,600 per month.

As part of the zoning discussion, the applicant agreed to construct a portion of new Bridges Road. Bridges Road historically connected Mt. Carmel Road to Willow Lane, but the bridge washed out in the 2000s. The county never replaced it. The new Bridges Road, shown on the site plan bisecting the project, is the first step to re-establish this connection.

Appeal Process

In November 2022, Blue River Development sold the property to M The Colonnade LLC. The Colonnade applied for the appeal so they can begin construction. County commissioners considered this appeal during the March 7 meeting.

To receive an appeal, the applicant had to document why they should receive vested rights. Vested rights would allow the project to proceed forward despite the moratorium. To document this, the applicant introduced contracts entered into to purchase the land, for a traffic impact study, and landscape architecture.

Based on the materials presented, the commissioners approved the appeal. This was also consistent with county staff’s recommendation. The project can now receive land disturbance permits and continue forward to construction.

Featured image shows Bridges Road townhomes site plan. Moore Bass Consulting photo.