Gatlinburg New Construction

[John Carbone]

I am looking into the Gatlinburg area and obviously it appears there is not much value left on existing cabins. Is it worth building new construction here, specifically in the Gatlinburg city limits? What is the smallest cabin structure that is allowed to be built and does it need to be built on site? Maybe build multiple cabins on a single lot that has city utilities so you don't need to worry about the septic, especially in areas that had damage from the fires.  I'm just thinking at these prices, building new seems like the only way forward sine everyone is competing for existing inventory (which is so low now.) 

Also when I say building new I am talking about couples cabins 1 bedrooms in a good location that would rent out in the $125-$175 range a night. 

[Jerry Calhoun]

Gatlinburg has the most restrictive zoning and building codes followed by Pigeon Forge. Sevier County has the least restrictive requirements. The use of septic systems is more in use out in the county. In the past, many builders would get around the permitted number of bedrooms and size of a septic system by building "bonus rooms" which, after receiving their certificate of occupancy would put in beds and advertise it as a 5 bedroom when the septic system was permitted for only 3. That seems to have worked for STR purposes but when you go to sell the property you can only claim the number of permitted septic bedrooms. I'm not sure if those practices are still valid with new builds but if you see a property for sale that advertises a number of bedrooms with additional bonus rooms you will at least understand what that means.

I can't properly answer how many units could be built on a 3-acre lot but I would think it could be permitted that way depending on where in Gatlinburg it is located. Another possible solution would be to divide the acreage into proper size lots for the number of cabins you wish to build.

My suggestion would be to try to find a lot just outside the city limits so you would fall under county guidelines but could still advertise the property as Gatlinburg and would most likely have a Gatlinburg mailing address.