A new housing development is coming to College Avenue.

The new development by Signet Tiger Realty is planned to be between Hubbard Young Pharmacy and the White House on College, across the street from Bixby.

It is planned to be a six-story, nearly 300-bed apartment complex with retail and parking on the ground floor. The apartments are mostly one- and two-bedroom, with a few three-bedroom and studio apartments, to appeal to those that don’t want to live with large numbers of roommates.

“The intent is to have a diversity of offerings of unit types and treat it more like a market-rate housing project,” Spencer Hyatt, head of the Signet Tiger project, said. “There are no four-bedroom units within the mix. Our focus has been on some studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units. None of these will be rent-by-the-bed with the obvious exception of studios and ones.”

The goal is to create an apartment building more like what you would find in Greenville or Atlanta, in part to attract young professionals and young families.

Although the building is not a part of the Uptown Redevelopment project, it fits with the intended use and feel of the area along College Avenue, with the building designed to fit in with the Bixby development across the street, with similar height, look and setbacks.

Precautions are being taken to respect the residents on the backside of the development on Knox Avenue. 

Features to help maintain the character of the neighborhood include a total lack of entrances on the backside, a lack of balconies on the backside and a step-down from four to two stories to lower the backside wall. Between the step-down and the site grade change, the backside should only be about two stories tall.

The development will also include several community improvements, including a revamped streetscape with wider sidewalks, bike lanes and open space. The development will also include public parking above and beyond what is required for the businesses and apartments.