A Chattanooga developer is planning a $6 million makeover to an existing commercial structure on the North Shore and bringing in a mix of retail and restaurant space.
"The North Shore is a vibrant market," said Cardon Smith, vice president of Fletcher Bright Co. "There's a lot of residential going on around there."
Work to revamp a steel and concrete structure at 300 Cherokee Blvd., next to the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Business Development Center, is slated to start next week, Smith said.
When complete next summer, the 30,000-square-foot building will be anchored by an 8,000-square-foot brewery with tasting room and bar for the Heaven and Ale Brewing Co. That business currently is located nearby and is expanding, said Smith.
Also, the development dubbed 300 Cherokee will hold a 3,500-square-foot Orangetheory Fitness, Merch women's clothing store and a Noire Nail Bar, he said. Smith said the development is over 50 percent leased now.
The building also has space for a new restaurant with indoor/outdoor mezzanine, he said.
"There's pent-up demand," the developer said.
Jeff Jennings, a real estate broker for NAI Charter Real Estate Corp., said the new Orangetheory Fitness is its second location in Chattanooga, the first on Igou Gap Road.
"This is a superb redevelopment project that a multitude of Chattanooga consumers will enjoy," he said about 300 Cherokee.
In addition, plans are to build a pedestrian connection between 300 Cherokee and the Signal Mill development underway on Manufacturers Road. Smith said the walkway will cross a railroad spur that's infrequently used and owned by Norfolk Southern, which is providing walking pads across the tracks.
He said the 300 Cherokee building was constructed by 3M Co. in the 1970s. That company also formerly owned the Business Development Center before it was converted into a small business incubator.
The project also will include 102 parking spaces.
The new retail development on Cherokee Boulevard will complement another mixed-use project that Fletcher Bright Co. already is building nearby at Manning Street, he said.
That $3.5 million, three-story brick building is slated to have office, retail or restaurant uses.
Also nearby on Cherokee Boulevard, Vision Hospitality Group, Chattanooga's largest hotel developer, is building an apartment complex that officials estimated will cost "north of $10 million."
In addition, the former Loft restaurant site at Cherokee and Manning is to hold 185 apartments in a $37 million development.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.