Audio clip
Eddie Holmes
Chattanooga officials have condemned one of the dilapidated buildings on the 700 block of Market Street where new development was promised years ago.
The vacant structure near the SunTrust Bank building appears to be falling in on itself. Bricks from a sizable section of a rear corner of the building are strewn along the ground, and a 12-foot-high tree is growing through the structure.
A city sign on a rear door off an alley that was posted several weeks ago warns the building is condemned and “unfit for human habitation, use or occupancy.”
“Inside it’s a hazard,” said Dallas Rucker of the city’s building inspection department. “The floor is starting to collapse.”
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Chattanooga officials have condemned one of the dilapidated buildings on the 700 block of Market Street where new development was promised years ago.
About a half dozen adjacent buildings on the east side of the 700 block including the condemned one sit in a rundown state as developer Trey Stanley and the Chattanooga Housing Authority work toward construction of a proposed high-rise that would hold 58 condominiums.
Mr. Stanley said this week that building demolition is scheduled to start this month.
However, progress has been delayed in the past at the site, which originally was purchased for redevelopment nearly eight years ago by the nonprofit, private downtown group The RiverCity Co.
Neighbors have complained about graffiti, broken windows and the tattered appearance of the buildings that make up about half the block in the heart of downtown.
Meanwhile, the housing authority in a statement Tuesday said it so far has released $2.1 million of a $3.65 million loan for the project to a company formed by the housing authority and Mr. Stanley, 700 Block Development Partners.
Mr. Stanley said $550,000 was spent to defray earlier costs related to land purchases. He said there have been other expenses drawn from the loan as well, but he declined to say how much.
“We’ve got a schedule by which the (company) is governed,” Mr. Stanley said. “We’ll submit invoices, and there will be a proportional pay down on those as well.”
Housing authority officials said disbursement of the funds for specific uses is the developer’s responsibility. Authority board Chairman Eddie Holmes said the money will be drawn as the project continues.
“It’s proceeding about the way we’d like it to proceed,” he said.
Mr. Stanley bought the buildings about two years ago and aims to put up a $16 million, nine-story structure that is to include parking and commercial space as well as condos selling for as much as $330,000 each.
In August the Chattanooga developer and the housing authority announced an innovative deal in which CHA would become an equity partner in the project called Mayfair on Market.
The housing authority obtained the $3.65 million loan from mortgage lender Fannie Mae.
The housing authority received a pledge that 18 units would be earmarked for more affordably priced units in the range of $150,000 and up. But the deal between the housing authority and Mr. Stanley did not close until about Christmas, or months after the anticipated date.
Ralph Perrey, director of Fannie Mae’s Tennessee Community Business Center, said it took longer to close the loan in order to work through technical and timing issues.
“This was the first time the housing authority had done this kind of transaction,” Mr. Perrey said.
Bill Lord, CHA’s chief information officer, said in a statement it has faith in Mr. Stanley’s company to complete the project on time and within budget.
He said the housing authority has been “very careful to assure that all funds provided through CHA are well-secured.”
Mr. Stanley said this week that after 90 days or so of demolition, work to raise the new structure should start this summer, though he still is trying to nail down the last of the construction financing that could include a consortium of several banks.
“We’re working at pulling everything together,” Mr. Stanley said.
If financing cannot be found immediately after demolition, the site will be graded, he said.
“But I don’t anticipate that kind of delay,” Mr. Stanley said.
MAYFAIR ON MARKET
Latest timeline:
* March 2008 — Demolition to begin
* Summer — Construction to start
* Summer 2009 — Condo units to open
Source: Developer Trey Stanley
Mike Pare, the deputy Business editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, has worked at the paper for 27 years. In addition to editing, Mike also writes Business stories and covers Volkswagen, economic development and manufacturing in Chattanooga and the surrounding area. In the past he also has covered higher education. Mike, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Florida Atlantic University. he worked at the Rome News-Tribune before ...
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