Doctor’s dream for Southside nearing reality

For five years Dr. Carey Nease dreamed of building his own surgery center. Now, his $4.9 million mixed-use project on the Southside will become one of the biggest developments constructed in that area, according to real estate agent Jay Robinson.

Plans call for a groundbreaking next week at 1405 Cowart St. where the 25,000-square-foot structure will rise, said Greg Bonner, project manager for builder T.U. Parks Construction Co.

Over the next 11 months, the vacant lot will transform into a four-story building with a cosmetic surgery center and medical spa on the second floor, retail and office space on the ground level and four penthouse condos on the third floor, according to architect Craig Kronenberg. The fourth floor also will feature a mezzanine for condo owners to share, with a panoramic view of the city and mountains, he said.

The Southern Surgical Arts building will be constructed of limestone and black slate, with copper sun screens and bronze window frames, transforming a grassy lot littered with foundry sand into what Kronenberg calls a “pretty exceptional urban building.”

The architect originally designed the project as a condo development several years ago, but when the real-estate market slowed, he chose to hold off.

“We had designed a four-story condominium and retail project, and there just wasn’t a market for that number of condos in the Southside,” Kronenberg said. “So we sold the property to Dr. Nease.”

The design stayed much the same after the sale, but the second floor became a doctor’s office instead of residential condos, and the developers took steps to LEED certify the building, he said.

Though the real estate market shows few signs of making a strong comeback, the project’s timing couldn’t be better for Nease, who was able to buy the property for $575,000 and who said he will be able to build the structure for less than what many developers paid for other high-profile projects in the area.

“The market was down a bit at that time, and so it probably helped me to get the property for less than it would have been,” Nease said.

He began to look to Chattanooga as a future expansion for his practice previously centered in Calhoun and Dalton, Ga., when his patient base began shifting from North Atlanta toward the Chattanooga area over the last three years.

“If that’s where I’m needed, that’s where I’m going to go,” he said.

Nease is personally invested in the project, not only involved in its financing, but as a resident. He will keep a condo on the top floor that he plans to use for overnight stays for himself as well as patients who have traveled from a distance, he said.

A key part of the development will be the artistic elements incorporated by Nease and his soon-to-be curator, Angela Usrey.

In addition to the building’s north/south orientation, natural lighting and other creative elements, Nease selected Usrey to keep the building’s occupants supplied with a changing selection of between five and 15 pieces of local and regional art, Usrey said.

“I’m more than likely going to open with a couple regional artists, and rotate the show out once every couple of months,” she said.

She carries out similar projects in other states from Idaho to Alabama, she said, and has been successful “taking Southern artists to a national platform.”

CapitalMark Bank & Trust provided financing for the development, and banker Kenny Dyer said he’s confident not only in Nease’s project, but in the entire Southside’s growth potential moving forward.

“We like what’s going on at the Southside; we are looking at that as a growth area,” Dyer said. “We think it’s a great looking building, and it will fit well in the area.”

The project will have parking for 51 vehicles.