Hardwick Hogshead building at 600 Georgia Ave.A local investment firm has acquired two of Chattanooga's oldest downtown apartment complexes for $8.5 million.
CCB Real Estate Partners bought the 20-unit Robinson Apartments, originally built in 1910, and the nearby 6-story Hardwick Hogshead Apartments, erected in 1912. The properties are located in the Fountain Square Historic District just across Georgia Avenue from the Hamilton County Courthouse.
Robinson Apartments, first built in 1910, have been sold.Fred Robinson, representing the owner of the Fountain Square real estate, expressed mixed emotions about selling the historic downtown apartment complexes.
"We have not been the traditional landlord, in that some of the property has been in this family since ice was delivered by horse and carriage," Robinson said in an announcement of the sale. "Long term ownership seems to be a rarity in investment real estate today. Collectively, we have leased to several generations of Chattanoogans, and our experience has been overwhelmingly positive."
The buyers of the apartments are organized as a limited partnership headed by Robert T. Johnston, who works at the Johnston Southern Co. in Ooltewah and is the son of Coca-Cola bottling magnate Summerfield Johnston Jr., who once headed Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., the world's biggest Coke bottler.
The sale was brokered by Marcus D. Lyons, a director at Berkadia Real Estate Advisors who represented the buyers.
"There is a booming demand to provide affordable rental housing for young professionals and others who want to work and live in the heart of the city," Lyons said. "These two apartment buildings have a long history of providing a quality living experience for their residents, and my client is committed to carrying that reputation forward."
Both apartment buildings underwent historic renovations in the 1980s and 1990s.