Posted 8:31 am Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Development Slated For Chandler's Future
Motel, Restaurants Would Keep Business Inside City Limits
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
CHANDLER — Beverly Kirby would like to see new development in Chandler.
Ms. Kirby, who lives in nearby Brownsboro, typically drives to Tyler if she wants to go out to eat.
If more restaurants came to Chandler, she said she might be enticed to stay closer to home.
“I think expansion is definitely needed. I think about young children (in Brownsboro), and I'm sure parents would prefer them going to Chandler instead of Tyler,” Ms. Kirby said.
She may get her wish, as Chandler is looking to bring in a national motel chain and new businesses.
Dennis Mack, board chairman for the Chandler Brownsboro Area Chamber of Commerce, has been a frontrunner in the motel effort.
Chandler City Administrator Jim Moffeit makes a phone call to check on the pace of the construction
Mack said three chains have expressed interest in building in Chandler — Best Western, Choice Hotels and La Quinta Inn and Suites. However, financing is still being worked out.
“We thought we had financing secure, but the financing people wanted to give us 10 to 15 times more than what we needeD ... ,” Mack said. “It was in the $35 (million) to $60 million range, but we don't need that for a motel. We could suffice with a whole lot less than that.”
The actual cost is expected to be less than $10 million.
Mack said another finance company is crunching numbers, and it is unknown what they will do. If financing does works out, this would be the first motel for Chandler.
Athletic teams would love to have tournaments in Chandler, Mack said, but do not want to stay in Tyler and have to drive back and forth.
The city also is a gateway for Lake Palestine and could play host to fishing tournament participants at a motel, he said.
Additionally, Mack said, those who come visit relatives at a Chandler nursing home will not have to stay in Tyler or Athens.
Along with the convenience of a motel would come economic benefits.
Mack said a motel likely would create 15 to 20 jobs, depending on whether restaurants were associated with it and the number of rooms.
“We have set a minimum of 50 rooms, and we're looking for somewhere between 50 and 100. We don't feel a larger size would be realistic, but we want it to be able to expand to a certain size,” he said.
Mack would not divulge potential locations, but said the motel would be somewhere along Texas Highway 31.
City Administrator Jim Moffeit said Chandler also has been approached by a couple of fast food franchises, including Church's Chicken.
While new development could pop up in Chandler, a senior citizen income-adjusted apartment complex already is under construction.
The $7.5 million complex, called Silverleaf at Chandler, will be on Farm-to-Market Road 2010.
It is slated to have 30 units and is being funded through the Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs.
“We only had a few of these type apartments, and our population throughout the state is getting a little older. I think the demographics showed it could be supported here,” Moffeit said.
People who live in these facilities also still buy groceries, bank, drive cars and buy gas, he said, so the project will have a positive economic impact for the city.
Silverleaf at Chandler is expected to be complete in July.
Chandler also is in the process of purchasing 27 acres adjacent to Winchester Park.
Moffeit said the land could be used to build a new police station, city hall building, community center or ballpark. The city has contracted with Planning Concepts to find out the best use for the land.
“The money we're spending today is not a cost but an investment in the future. We're not just spending money, we're investing money, and we're not only investing money but in the people on our boards and (city) council,” Councilman Gene Giger said.
Community Profile
With current projects and potential future development in the works, officials are busy preparing for growth that may come as a result.
Last week, economic developers with Texas A&M University's Texas Engineering Extension Service came to the city to do a community profile.
As it gathered information, the group studied the city's infrastructure, housing, school system, tourism, crime rates and incomes, among other things.
Moffeit said TEEX also planned to interview about 30 residents to discuss things such as quality of life characteristics, types of businesses they wish would come to Chandler and current and community activities involving surrounding cities and counties.
All of this will “tell us a lot about ourselves that we may or may not know. What we're going to use this for is to make available on our Web site information that individuals or companies that might be looking to relocate in the city of Chandler would have a ready amount of information that they would gather right there,” he said.
“We're also going to develop some sort of tri-fold or a brochure with this that we could mail to someone in Kansas who might be looking to retire in Texas. And then ultimately, it will become part of a master plan that we're beginning to put together for the city of Chandler going forward for the next 10 to 20 years.”
SueAnn Palmore, program manager with TEEX, anticipates that the community profile will be complete by the end of February.
Additionally, the city is preparing for the future by upgrading its water and sewer systems.
Chandler is completing a new well in the Sportsman's Paradise subdivision, which the city hopes will produce about 300 million or 350 million gallons a minute, Moffeit said.
The city also recently accepted a report from an engineering firm for its capital improvement program. “This is kind of a plan that will carry us out another 10 years or so,” Moffeit said “It talks about some of the things we might need to do relatively soon, some of the things we might need to do in a few years and some projects are kind of … dreams that we'd like to do.”
He said Chandler is a bedroom community with about 3,000 residents. However, it could reach about 4,500 in 10 years, depending on how western Tyler develops.
“I feel that we are becoming aware and prepared every day. We're in a learning mode right now. We're doing more than just talking to each other,” Giger said.
Schools
While Chandler is preparing for the future, so is Brownsboro ISD. The district has seen growth over the years, increasing from 2,499 students in fall 2000 to about 2,850 today. And with growth projected to be about 1.7 percent each year, officials are preparing by assessing facility needs.
Assistant Superintendent Vicki York said Brownsboro Elementary School is landlocked and has a library and cafeteria that are small for its student population.
There are also issues at Brownsboro Junior High School and Chandler Elementary School, she said.
There are also issues at Brownsboro Junior High School and Chandler Elementary School, she said.
“Although we have sufficient room (at Brownsboro Junior High), we have made due,” Ms. York said. “We're very spread out because the original building is so small. We have kids going to portables and walking outside.”
At Chandler Elementary, she said the size is adequate, but there are definite parking and traffic flow issues. And, although the district's two intermediate campuses are new, they may need additional space in the future because they likely are at capacity now, Ms. York said.
In order to address these and other facility needs, BISD is in the process of naming members of a planning committee.
Ms. York said the committee will include more than 50 people, including community members, stakeholders and parents, who will talk about a facilities study and look at estimated costs and project options.
The committee will then make recommendations to the school board.
“Our consultants have given us five scenarios to look at. … They've given us the estimated cost for all of these, so what committee will have to do is sift through all that,” Ms. York said. “We are looking at possibilities. We are looking at an estimated cost and what is the priority of the community.”
