Owner Greg Ross stands in his store, Estate of Confusion, on Main Street on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The eclectic shop will be closing on May 1.A complex of buildings at 301 E. Main St., that held Estate of Confusion, an eclectic resale business, was sold this week for $954,000 to Choo Choo Partners GP.
There's still no official word about what's next for the property in the heart of Chattanooga's trendy Southside neighborhood.
Estate of Confusion's owner, Greg Ross, knows the new owner's plans - but declined to share them.
"He's really secretive about everything, and I told him I wouldn't [say]," Ross said.
Choo Choo Partners, GP, isn't related to Choo Choo Partners LP, the parent company of the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel, apartment and entertainment venue next door, said Jon Kinsey, the developer and former mayor who's a principal partner in the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
"We have no involvement in it," said Kinsey, who also declined to say what's in the works for the former Estate of Confusion property.
"It's going to be a neat place," Kinsey said. "I'm going to let them announce what they're doing when they're ready."
Ross said he's sold about 80 percent of Estate of Confusion's inventory, and has a few weeks to haul off what's left.
He purchased the property at 301 E. Main St. in 1999 for $85,000. Ross is in negotiations to buy another building downtown, partly to avoid paying a roughly 24 percent capital gains tax on the money he made on the sale.
"I don't avoid it, I just push it down the road," he said of the tax bite.
Ross doesn't plan to open Estate of Confusion, which sold such salvaged items as stained-glass windows and foundry molds, at another location. He no longer wants to collect items and wait for someone to buy them.
"I am not inclined to repeat this business model," Ross said.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or on Twitter @meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.