Market Watch · The Docket: Lee County

Lee County: what was filed, approved, and started in September 2026

By Daniel Sexton · Issue 1

Published: September 24, 2026
Records through: September 22, 2026
Covers: Auburn, Opelika, and Lee County

Corrections

Birmingham Hwy rezoning (ledger): the Opelika City Council adopted it on July 7, 2026 (Ordinance 022-26). It is Approved, not only recommended. Source. Corrected September 24, 2026.
LeMans Square and Chateau apartments: the Auburn City Council approved the conditional uses on August 18, 2026. The status is Approved, not Filed. Source. Corrected September 24, 2026.
Society Hill Apartments: the planning commission approved a 12-month extension on August 25, 2026. Source. Corrected September 24, 2026.
Auburn's downtown housing moratorium: the city says it remains in effect while a 24-month zoning rewrite is under way, so the November 30, 2026 date may not hold. Source. Corrected September 24, 2026.

The short version

The old Pepperell Mill site in Opelika moved a step closer to becoming a neighborhood. A 183-lot residential plat went before the planning commission on September 22.¹
On the same agenda: a request to rezone 18.9 acres on Andrews Road from heavy industrial to commercial, tied to a travel center, and a self-storage application on Samford Avenue.¹
Springs at Opelika, 252 rental units, broke ground in August.²

Status labels

Filed on an agenda or in an application · Approved a board or council voted yes · Started construction confirmed by the developer or the city. Every entry shows its source and the date we last checked it.

New this month

All five items below were on the Opelika Planning Commission agenda for September 22, 2026.¹ Outcomes will appear in the October minutes and in next month's issue.

The Mill subdivision Filed

1st and 2nd Avenues at 24th Street, Opelika

190 lots: 183 residential, six open space, one multipurpose. A preliminary plat and minor master plan changes, including smaller setbacks for the homes. It builds on the 327-unit plan for the Mill property approved in March 2025.¹

Source 1 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

Andrews Road rezoning and travel center Filed

3000 block of Andrews Road, Opelika

18.9 acres from M-2 (heavy industrial) to C-3 (commercial), with a conditional use for a travel center that depends on the rezoning.¹

Source 1 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

Storage World Filed

300 Samford Avenue, Opelika

Conditional use for a self-storage facility in a C-2 zone.¹

Source 1 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

Yarbrough Hills Townhomes Filed: final plat

Yarbrough Drive, Opelika

69 lots, up for final plat, the last approval step before lots can be sold. The project first came before the planning commission in 2024.¹

Source 1 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

Executive Park Townhomes Filed: final plat

2003 Executive Park Drive, Opelika

16 lots, up for final plat.¹

Source 1 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

Changes to projects we track

Springs at Opelika Started

Gateway Drive at Capps Drive, Opelika · 252 units

Continental Properties announced its groundbreaking on August 11: townhome-style rental units with private entrances and attached garage options. Preleasing is planned for spring 2027 and first move-ins for July 2027.²

Source 2 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

Society Hill Apartments Approved

2900 Society Hill Road, Opelika · 265 units

Approved as a conditional use in November 2025.¹⁸ An extension of that approval was on the August 25 agenda, which usually means construction has not begun.³

Sources 18, 3 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

The Lexington Approved

South College Street at South Donahue Drive, Auburn

15 condominiums over 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and offices on 1.15 acres. The Auburn City Council approved the rezoning on July 22.⁴

Source 4 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

LeMans Square and Chateau apartments Filed

Near Auburn University, Auburn

Plans to redevelop both complexes went before the planning commission in August. Construction is planned for June 2027 and new tenants for 2029. Current residents raised concerns about relocation and notice.⁵

Source 5 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

Faith Technologies Approved: incentives

Former Joann Fabrics distribution center, Northeast Industrial Park, Opelika

The $79 million project, with at least 200 jobs, was announced in February with a ten-year property tax abatement.⁶ JoAnn Drive is being renamed Faith Way, and in July the industrial development authority asked to vacate part of its right-of-way.⁸¹⁹ We have not confirmed that work has started.

Sources 6, 8, 19 · Verified Sept 23, 2026

The ledger

Larger projects we follow from month to month, as of this issue. The Lee County page always shows the current version.

Project	Size	Status	Last change	Verified
Perryman Hill Plaza US 280 at Veterans Pkwy, Opelika	65,000 SF center; 9-lot plat	Filed Plat back before the planning commission. Grocery anchor unconfirmed.	May 2026⁷⁸	Sept 23, 2026
Perryman Hill Apartments 3655 Veterans Pkwy, Opelika	265 units	Approved Conditional use	Mar 2026⁹	Sept 23, 2026
Tree Tops II 2908 Birmingham Hwy, Opelika	338 units	Approved Conditional use	Mar 2026⁹	Sept 23, 2026
Birmingham Hwy rezoning 3400 block, Opelika	18.35 acres, R-4 to C-2	Filed Planning commission recommended; council vote not yet confirmed	Apr 2026⁷	Sept 23, 2026
Bridgewater Logan Dr, Opelika	541 lots	Approved Preliminary plat	Oct 2025¹⁰	Sept 23, 2026
Mayfair S Uniroyal Rd, Opelika	401 lots planned	Approved Phases 1 and 2 preliminary plats (246 lots)	Jun 2026¹¹¹²	Sept 23, 2026
Society Hill Apartments 2900 Society Hill Rd, Opelika	265 units	Approved Conditional use; extension filed Aug 2026	Aug 2026¹⁸³	Sept 23, 2026
Springs at Opelika Gateway Dr at Capps Dr, Opelika	252 units	Started Groundbreaking announced	Aug 2026²	Sept 23, 2026
The Foundry at North College N College St at Shug Jordan Pkwy, Auburn	282 acres; 625+ homes plus apartments; 200,000+ SF commercial; 15-20 year build-out	Approved Jolly Development. Council approved annexation and zoning March 3, 2026; final approval of the project still pending. Plains High School is planned next door.	Mar 2026¹³	Sept 23, 2026
The Mark Downtown Auburn	329 units	Started Under construction; completion expected around June 2028	Aug 2025¹⁴	Sept 23, 2026
Faith Technologies Former Joann Fabrics distribution center, Opelika	$79 million; 200+ jobs	Approved Incentives. Start of work not confirmed.	Jul 2026⁶¹⁹	Sept 23, 2026

What we're watching

Does Opelika's pause slow anything down? From May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027, Opelika is not accepting new rezonings to higher density, new preliminary subdivision plats, or new conditional uses for multifamily or mixed-use projects. Projects approved earlier are exempt.¹⁶ Several of those are now reaching final plat. Whether the overall pace slows will not be clear until next year. Too early to call.

What happens along Andrews Road and Birmingham Highway? This year brought a request to rezone industrial land to commercial on Andrews Road, a travel center application, and a commercial rezoning recommended on Birmingham Highway.¹⁷ Three items are not a trend. Watching.

Dates ahead. Auburn's moratorium on new multi-unit and off-campus student housing in its Urban Core and Urban Neighborhood-West zones runs through November 30, 2026 unless the council changes it.¹⁵ Opelika's zoning rewrite, with KPS Group of Birmingham, is scheduled to run through the pause.¹⁷

Coverage this month

Opelika coverage is complete through the September 22 planning commission agenda. Auburn coverage is partial: Auburn's 2026 planning commission records were not all available to us this month, so Auburn items here come from council actions and published reports. Lee County Commission coverage begins with a later issue. If you see something we missed or got wrong, tell us and we will correct it in the next issue.

Sources and disclosure

City of Opelika, Planning Commission Agenda, September 22, 2026, September 2026. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
Opelika Observer, Continental Properties breaks ground on Springs at Opelika, August 11, 2026. Press. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Planning Commission Agenda, August 25, 2026, August 2026. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
Opelika Observer, Mixed-use development approved for south Auburn, July 21, 2026. Press. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
WTVM, Auburn residents raise concerns over apartment redevelopment plans, August 20, 2026. Press. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
WTVM, Data center expansion and manufacturing project expected to bring hundreds of jobs to Lee County, February 25, 2026. Press. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Planning Commission Minutes, April 28, 2026. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Planning Commission Agenda, May 26, 2026. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Planning Commission Minutes, March 24, 2026. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Planning Commission Minutes, October 28, 2025. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Planning Commission Minutes, June 23, 2026. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Planning Commission Minutes, June 24, 2025. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
Opelika Observer, Auburn council paves way for mixed-use development, March 3, 2026. Press. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
Opelika Observer, Council approves infrastructure agreement for huge development, August 19, 2025. Press. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
Opelika Observer, Auburn votes for building moratorium, November 24, 2025. Press. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Opelika City Council to consider one-year planning moratorium to evaluate growth and infrastructure, January 2026; and Opelika Observer, Opelika puts pause on new residential building permits, February 17, 2026. Primary; Press. City · Observer · Checked September 23, 2026.
Citizen Portal, Opelika planning staff outlines May moratorium, yearlong zoning rewrite with consultant, 2026. Secondary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Planning Commission Minutes, November 18, 2025. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.
City of Opelika, Planning Commission Agenda, July 28, 2026. Primary. Link · Checked September 23, 2026.

How Redchip researches and verifies: Method. Disclosure: the author is a partner in Vanguard Industrial Partners, which develops projects in Lee County and may have interests in or near properties listed here.

This is general information, not advice about a specific company, property, or transaction. See the disclaimer.