Photo by Doug Strickland /Times Free Press.Martin Luther King Boulevard is growing with new development near the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus - and looming over it all is Douglas Heights, a $41 million, 691-bed apartment complex that opened in August and caters to college students.
The man behind Douglas Heights is Chattanooga developer Chris Curtis, a Baylor School graduate who studied finance at the University of Alabama before deciding to enter the construction and development business almost two decades ago. Curtis, who's in his mid-40s, previously built or developed mostly storage units, truck stops and other projects, mainly in Texas.
Curtis is president of Chattanooga-based Riverside Development LLC, and one of his company's employees who oversees real estate introduced him to the M.L. King Boulevard and Douglas Street site.
"We studied it about a year [then] we decided to pull the trigger," Curtis says.
Construction of the 354,000-square-foot complex took about two years. Douglas Heights was built without any public financial incentives, but Curtis expects the district will need community assistance to continue to grow.
"We want to see this entire district be successful," he says.
Curtis says he is looking at potentially building two other phases of similar housing nearby.
But first, he plans to develop nearby buildings on M.L. King. One project on the UTC side of M.L. King would house mixed-use space, including 28 apartments, Curtis says.
An "indoor beer garden" is opening inside another property Curtis owns at 336 E. Martin Luther King Blvd., which Jay Boyd, an entrepreneur in his mid-20s, is converting into OddStory Brewing Co.
The stretch of MLK from Georgia Avenue to the train trestle is being revitalized with help from the River City Co. and Chattanooga foundations, which have provided grants to a number of businesses for such things as signage.
Other new developments there include Hutton & Smith Brewing Co. a microbrewery and tap room that opened last year at 431 E. M.L. King Blvd. The Camp House coffee shop moved into a storefront under the Volunteer Building's garage. Also being renovated is an old, brick building at the corner of Houston Street and MLK next to JJ's Bohemia, a small club with live music.
UTC has been recognized for linking "town with gown" along Vine Street, including by breaking ground last year on a 600-bed residence hall and building its new library on Vine.
Curtis sees downtown advancing down MLK as well.
"We're going to bring downtown into this district," he said.
Most Valuable Players
What business leaders were the most influential in shaping the local economy in 2016? In the Chattanooga region, 2016 was a year of building for the future. The first new nuclear reactor of the 21st century and the biggest plant construction project ever in the region was completed, while a record amount of new housing, hotel and retail development was launched in downtown Chattanooga to soon double the number of residents in the central city. One of the biggest floorcovering plants took shape in North Georgia as two carpet companies combined and Chattanooga's airport added another airline and parking facility. Tennessee's biggest heath insurer prepared to implement its biggest rate hike under the so-called Obamacare program, while the business trio that built one of Chattanooga's most successful startups in the past decade began a fund and program to bring more logistics companies to Chattanooga. The individuals who led such efforts and did the most to reshape the regional economy are our Most valuable Players in business in 2016. Our top list of MVPs includes both seasoned veterans and newly named heads of local businesses and reflects the diversity of Chattanooga's changing economy. * Tennessee American Water President Valoria Armstrong pushes new boundaries * Dynamo Accelerator's founders get back to their trucking industry roots * River City President Kim White helps bring record investment to Chattanooga's central city * Developer Chris Curtis revitalizing MLK with Douglas Heights, other projects * Terry Hart charts a growth course for Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport * Stacy Lightfoot helps students 'Step Up' and learn through internships * Bob Shaw grows Engineered Floors to four plants, 3,000 employees * DeFoor brothers embark on $88 million of new projects in central city * Mike Skaggs leads startup of first new nuke in America in two decades * BlueCross CEO J.D. Hickey scales back individual coverage amid tumult in Obamacare* These are Chattanooga's most influential business leaders