Downtown Henderson targeted for multi-million dollar housing development

A downtown Henderson man wants to build a multimillion-dollar housing development in a neighborhood of World War II-era homes.

If built, the homes would contribute to the rapid transformation of Henderson’s downtown.

Tim Griswold wants to build the 13 upscale homes on about a half-acre at Texas Avenue and Haynes Drive. He said he wants to start in the first quarter of 2020.

Griswold acknowledged that the energy-efficient homes would be on small lots.

“This is an urban infill as opposed to the traditional suburbia,” Griswold said.

It seems like an ambitious goal for a man who is developing homes for sale for the first time. But Griswold, who said his background is in technology, is used to being ambitious.

“It just seems that my whole career has been doing things that people say can’t be done,” he said.

Griswold said he plans to invest up to $7 million into the project. He said he thinks the homes will cost between $650,000 and $750,000.

He thinks his development can serve an untapped market downtown by catering to young people who want an urban environment and older people who want a more walkable community, he said.

“I just think there are a lot of people kind of like myself who are looking for a home in an urban environment as opposed to a suburban environment,” he said.

The neighborhood Griswold wants to build in was originally constructed in the 1940s to house workers of the Basic Magnesium plant. Griswold thinks his project can propel the historic neighborhood into the future with an eclectic environment.

The city reviewed Griswold’s concept last week, but the submission was not a formal application. Henderson would have to review official design plans before Griswold could take the project in front of the Planning Commission and the City Council.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.