Jax Liquors' new building will boost the size of the business and shift it from the back of its downtown lot to the corner. Rendering by pv design inc.A longtime fixture in downtown Chattanooga is doubling its space and expanding its offerings as the business builds anew to better fit the city's revived riverfront area.
Jax Liquors, one of the oldest remaining businesses within walking distance of the Tennessee Aquarium, will tear down its existing one-story store and construct a new one-and-a-half level structure on its current lot at Market and Third streets.
"It's going to look totally different," said owner Jasmin Patel about the planned 8,200-square-foot building.
He said the work, with a price tag of about $1.7 million, will shift the store from the back of the lot to the corner. The move also will increase parking by five or six spaces to 21, Patel said.
In the future, he said, the parking lot itself could undergo redevelopment, but not for at least five years.
Kim White, who heads the nonprofit downtown redevelopment group River City Company, said the parcel is underutilized given its proximity to the waterfront, and the building and parking were situated more like a suburban development.
"We're glad they're reinvesting," she said, citing the new building's move to the street. "It's a huge improvement. It's such a visible place."
White said the existing building "needed some TLC," adding that it's "great that they're thinking about what could be next."
Patel, who bought the business in 2012 and estimated that it's at least five decades old, said the new store will include beer and keg sales as permitted by a revised law along with soft drinks. Also, the structure will hold a cigar store, he said.
"It will be like a one-stop shop," Patel said.
Patel said the first story of the new store will hold about 6,100 square feet while the second level is to include offices.
Construction on the new store is slated to start in late March and last about six to eight months, said Patel. He expected that the business will remain open during construction.
The business is seeking a zoning change from the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission from M-1 to C-3 on the more than one-half-acre lot.
Over the past two decades, Chattanooga's downtown riverfront area has undergone a transformation and renaissance.
The Tennessee Aquarium was raised a couple of blocks away. New restaurants and a movie theater have gone up nearby. Behind the liquor store, high-end condominiums were built on Cherry Street and more are planned on that block.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.