Driving around Rome and Floyd County over the last several months, people have seen construction equipment and crews working on much-needed housing developments for the area’s future.
Assistant Planning Director Brice Wood said in February that around 1,700 housing units had been approved by the Rome-Floyd Planning Commission and the Board of Adjustments since February 2021. This includes both single-family detached units and multi-family units, including apartments and townhomes.
At least three housing developments are in the works near Downtown Rome and Between the Rivers District, including a 31 unit townhome development on Second Avenue. These townhomes will be a mix of three-story units with two-car garages and two-story units with one-car garages.
In January, the Rome City Commission approved a rezoning to allow for 41 townhomes to be built along First Avenue and Fourth Street. There will be three-story townhomes with two-car garages that are approximately 1,800 to 1,950 square feet, as well as two-story townhomes with one-car garages that are approximately 1,630 square feet.
Half of the townhome development on Third Street has already been completed, while construction began on the second half earlier this month.
On Monday, the Rome City Commission approved another townhome development off Shorter Avenue, bracketed by Carter and North Second avenues. Southern Engineering and Surveying is planning to build 39 two- and three-bedroom townhomes, ranging from 1,800 to 2,000 square feet each, standing two stories with single-car garages.
Commissioners also approved rezoning for an apartment complex along Woodrow Wilson Way. Gateway Development plans to build a 210-unit apartment complex that would be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
Over in North Rome, around 80 homes are underway in the Crestwood Subdivision on the North Broad Connector across the road from the Floyd County Jail.
The development is right across the street from the North Pointe neighborhood, whose residents have been requesting road improvements to make way for future homeowners and families. The road is similar to a two-lane country road lined with ditches and has seen an increase in traffic from construction.
It will also see another increase once Crestwood is finished.
Planning commission members will be reviewing a request to subdivide one of the plats into five separate lots for construction. The planning commission will have the final say in what happens with the subdivision.
At the same meeting, planning commission members will be voting on the rezoning of a multi-family housing development project off of U.S. 411. According to Planning Director Artagus Newell, about 1,200 homes will be added to the area.
Up to this point that development hasn’t seen any pushback from nearby residents similar to one off Pleasant Valley Road in Silver Creek, but that could change prior to the April 7 meeting.