Approximately 45 local dignitaries, business and community members turned out on a windy, lightly overcast Wednesday morning in celebration of the start of construction for Connally Corner, new housing development located just off the downtown square in Sulphur Springs.
Patrick Chase said he and daughter Carrie Nuckolls and their families have been working to see the project come to fruition for about three years now, during which the Sulphur Springs City Council approved an ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units, smaller secondary dwelling units on a property such as granny flats or garage apartments, as a means to meet growing local needs for additional housing.
Located at the corner of Connally and Easy Streets, the Connally Corner project is to be constructed in two phases with Scott and Diane Clements, of S. Clements Homes, are project builders.
The first phase will include construction of three two-story single-family housing homes, each with a detached garage that has an apartment above it, potentially providing six additional residences within walking distance of downtown Sulphur Springs. The units will face Connally Street, which connects to the Cross Town Trail and ends at Buford Park.
Fill dirt was trucked in last week so that construction of the Connally Street development would be ready to begin following the groundbreaking ceremony. Scott Clements anticipates construction on the home will take 5-6 months barring weather and COVID-19 impacts to construction. Although they three units have yet to be purchased yet, Clements said the homes should be ready for occupancy by the end of the year. The three units are priced in the $300,000s and are for sale by contacting Nuckolls. One condition of the city in approving the property, as is the case with new accessory dwellings, is that the owner of the property must live either in the two-story home or the garage apartment if the unit is rented out.
The second phase will include construction of three additional housing units just like the first three, each with detached garage apartments, located on the open field behind the first set of homes, at the corner of Easy Street and Parkins Street, facing Easy Street.
“We are excited about doing this. We think it will be good for downtown. We think it will be good for all of Sulphur Springs. We are excited about the Cross Town Trail and all that the city has done to make Connally Street more beautiful and the great place that it is,” Chase said.
Chase offered thanks to the City Council, city staff including the community development director and city manager “for all they have done” as well as the many people whose labor has made the project possible.
Nuckolls extended special thanks to Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell for “his vision” for Sulphur Springs. People come to Sulphur Springs and want to live in the city because of the downtown “vibe and energy and what our downtown has to offer.”
Also among those Nuckolls and Chase expressed thanks to were banker Don Sapaugh for taking a chance on the project as well as all the local banks for being the “backbone of this economy” by going the distance for a lot of people in up and down markets.
Sulphur Springs Mayor John Sellers said the City Council is excited to see the new development begin.
“This just bring about more of what we’ve been talking about – improving our city, making it to where we can be here to work, play, eat and live. So, that’s really exciting,” Sellers said. “I am just really excited that we are doing this. We’ve go the vision to do this and that it’s going to become a reality.”
