Chattanooga Choo Choo completes remodeling project

photo The Chattanooga Choo Choo

A $750,000 renovation at the Chattanooga Choo Choo will finish up this week, reopening it with new carpet, furniture such as 32-inch flat-screen televisions and resurfaced walls.

The hotel, located in the former Southern Railway station on Market Street, covers three buildings; the current renovation is taking place in Building Two.

The work started about six months ago, said Jim Bambrey Jr., rooms director for the hotel.

"It needed a new look," he said.

Building Two is the last building in a set of remodeling phases, said General Manager Jim Bambrey Sr. The first focused on Building One, but he didn't have details on when it took place or how much it cost.

The second phase consisted of a $1 million renovation of Building Three that began in 2009, Bambrey Sr. said. Between the renovation of Building Three and the start on Building Two, the Choo Choo also remodeled the rooms in its train cars to include new bedding, carpeting and wall surfaces.

"We want to remain competitive," Bambrey Sr. said. "We try to have a residential look. People want a guest room that looks like their home."

About a year ago, the Chattanooga Choo Choo launched a green initiative to allow for a more eco-friendly business, Bambrey Sr. said. To keep up with the initiative, the hotel donated the 10 tons of used, nonbiodegradable carpeting from Building Two to Columbia Recycling in Dalton, Ga.

The company accepts millions of pounds of carpeting from across the country for precessing into pellets used in stuffing and other applications, President Robert Goldberg said.

While 10 tons sounds like a lot carpet, Goldberg said it's "minuscule" compared to what he gets from across the country. But "every little bit helps," he said.

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