Clear Blue Co. has broken ground on Honeywood Dickson, a 228-unit affordable housing community at 841 Cowan Road in Dickson, Tennessee, about 40 miles west of Nashville. The $88.1 million project matters because it targets a persistent supply gap in a growing exurban corridor: one- to four-bedroom homes will be reserved at 30, 60 and 80 percent of area median income, a structure that spans deeply affordable to moderate-income renters. The groundbreaking also signals that complex, multi-layered capital stacks remain workable for affordable development in Tennessee, even as construction and financing costs pressure the sector.
The financing mechanics are unusually layered. The Health and Educational Facilities Board of the City of Dickson authorized up to $48 million in tax-exempt bonds, underwritten by Raymond James National Housing Group. Regions Real Estate Capital Markets provided a Freddie Mac loan, while Regions Affordable Housing supplied construction and equity bridge loans and made an equity investment in the project's 4 percent LIHTC allocation by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. The Dickson Housing Authority will provide development-based vouchers for 60 homes. Public and private partners include HUD, the City of Dickson, Dickson County, THDA, Regions Bank, and the Dickson Housing Authority.
The source is a single secondary trade report from RE Business Online, published September 24, 2026, and read in full. It provides project-level specifics but no independent corroboration from the developer, lenders, or public agencies. The dossier confirms the $88.1 million total, the $48 million bond authorization, the 4 percent LIHTC allocation, the Freddie Mac loan, and the 60 project-based vouchers. However, it does not disclose unit mix by bedroom count, per-unit cost, construction timeline beyond delivery dates, or the developer's return expectations. Those gaps limit the depth of financial analysis possible from this evidence alone.
For the Middle Tennessee multifamily market, Honeywood Dickson adds materially to income-restricted supply in a submarket where Nashville's growth has pushed housing costs outward. The use of 4 percent LIHTC, rather than the more competitive 9 percent credit, suggests a financing strategy that pairs tax-exempt bonds with credits to stretch subsidy further. The involvement of a Freddie Mac loan alongside LIHTC equity and local vouchers also illustrates how agency debt can anchor affordable deals. First units are expected next fall, with full delivery in March 2028, giving a roughly two-year construction and lease-up window.
The main limitation is evidentiary: one trade outlet, no primary documents, and no developer or agency statements. Key unknowns include the exact AMI income bands in dollar terms, the split between one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom units, and whether the 60 vouchers are project-based or tenant-based in practice. What to watch is whether the project delivers on schedule, whether the 30 percent AMI units remain financially sustainable without additional operating subsidy, and whether similar capital stacks are replicated in other Tennessee exurban markets facing affordability pressure.