Waldens buy Times building

Walden Security owner Mike Walden and his wife have bought the Times building downtown where they plan to put the corporate headquarters of their security company.

Mr. Walden said 10th Street LLC paid $3 million for the building to Emerson Associates LP, which includes former Mayor Jon Kinsey as its managing partner.

“It was a great opportunity to purchase a building in downtown Chattanooga,” Mr. Walden said about the six-level structure at 10th Street and Georgia Avenue.

He plans to shift the company’s corporate and regional headquarters to the Times building from Manufacturers Road. That site will continue to hold the security firm’s Chattanooga office, he said.

“We’ll bring 40 managers to downtown,” Mr. Walden said. A decision hasn’t been made whether to change the building’s name.

Mr. Kinsey said his group has owned the building since 1990 and redeveloped it in 1993. He said The Chattanooga Times relocated to the building.

After the newspaper’s purchase by WEHCO Media Inc., it combined with the Chattanooga Free Press on East 11th Street to create the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Mr. Kinsey said he wasn’t looking to sell, but John Healy of Sperry Van Ness/Elder Healy knew Mr. Walden was interested.

“Because of the quality of the buyer we were willing to sell at this time,” Mr. Kinsey said.

He said the development company Kinsey Probasco Hays will keep an office in the building.

Mr. Walden said renovation work has begun. Walden Security will occupy two floors and other tenants hold the remainder of the building, he said.

Mr. Walden said Walden Security plans to move in this spring.

Mr. Walden is president of the business, which has 2,500 employees. His wife, Amy, is chief executive of the company that has annual revenues of $85 million, he said.