VOL. 127 | NO. 243 | Thursday, December 13, 2012
Fairway Manor to Rise in Westwood
By Sarah Baker
An $8.5 million public housing project called Fairway Manor soon will break ground in Westwood’s 38109 ZIP code.
The facility at 12 W. Fairway Ave. will include a three-story senior living space and a seven-building townhouse apartment complex with clubhouse. The 110,000-square-foot project will contain 96 units between the two properties.
Memphis Land Bank Inc. awarded the construction contract to Chris Woods Construction Co. Inc. Memphis Land Bank was established in 2000 to assist the Memphis Housing Authority and the city of Memphis in the development, construction, management and operation of safe and affordable housing.
Fairway Manor, a Low Income Housing Tax Credit and Tax-Exempt Bond project, is slated to kick off in January and be completed within one year. The site is part of the former site of Graves Manor, a dilapidated public housing community that was demolished several years ago.
Brian Campbell, project manager with Chris Woods Construction, called it “a pretty accelerated project.”
“We’ll be doing both phases concurrently,” Campbell said. “It’s not complex construction, it’s just getting all of the players on board and scheduling everybody at the right time.”
It’s also tricky to commence a construction project during the winter, Campbell said.
“We’re starting it in the wet, cold time of the year,” he said. “Getting site work going and foundations going this time of the year is always a challenge.”
Past projects of Chris Woods Construction include those in the commercial, industrial, distribution and religious sectors. This is only the 27-year-old firm’s second multifamily venture, secured by an interview process with Owen Reid, director of operations at Memphis Land Bank.
“(Reid) asked us to go out on one of his other projects that were recently completed and do some remedial work,” Campbell said. “He’s just been happy with us.”
Houston-based Steinburg Design Collaborate LLP is providing architectural services for Fairway Manor. Engineering is being done locally through SSR Ellers Inc. for civil and landscape.