ArtsBuild getting new digs: Chattanooga Publishing Co. donates building

ArtsBuild, the private, nonprofit arts advocate in Chattanooga, will be getting a new home. The agency is currently renting space on Frazier Avenue but will be moving to the corner of King and 11th street thanks to a deal that has been in the works for three years. The Chattanooga Publishing Co., the parent company of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, is giving the Dover Building, a 15,000-square-foot, three-story structure at the corner of King and streets, to the organization.
ArtsBuild, the private, nonprofit arts advocate in Chattanooga, will be getting a new home. The agency is currently renting space on Frazier Avenue but will be moving to the corner of King and 11th street thanks to a deal that has been in the works for three years. The Chattanooga Publishing Co., the parent company of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, is giving the Dover Building, a 15,000-square-foot, three-story structure at the corner of King and streets, to the organization.
photo ArtsBuild, the private, nonprofit arts advocate in Chattanooga, will be getting a new home. The agency is currently renting space on Frazier Avenue but will be moving to the corner of King and 11th street thanks to a deal that has been in the works for three years. The Chattanooga Publishing Co., the parent company of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, is giving the Dover Building, a 15,000-square-foot, three-story structure at the corner of King and streets, to the organization.

ArtsBuild, the private, nonprofit arts advocate in Chattanooga, will be getting a new home thanks to the donation of a building owned by the parent company of the Times Free Press.

In a deal that has been in the works for three years, ArtsBuild will leave its rented space on the North Shore's Frazier Avenue and move to the Dover Building at the intersection of King and 11th streets downtown.

CULTURAL PARTNERS

ArtsBuild supports: * Southern Lit Alliance * Association for Visual Arts * Chattanooga Theatre Centre * Choral Arts of Chattanooga * Ballet Tennessee * Creative Discovery Museum * Chattanooga African-American Museum * Chattanooga Ballet * Chattanooga Boys Choir * Chattanooga Girls Choir * Hunter Museum of American Art * Chattanooga History Center * Chattanooga Symphony & Opera * Shaking Ray Levi Society Source: ArtsBuild

Chattanooga Publishing Co. is giving the nearly 100-year-old Dover Building to ArtsBuild. The 15,000-square-foot, three-story structure across the street from the Times Free Press is estimated to be worth $240,000.

ArtsBuild President Dan Bowers called it "a monstrous gift to the arts community and ArtsBuild."

In addition to saving the organization money, he said, the downtown location is closer to the burgeoning arts activities on and around Main Street, and other endeavors around town.

"It will allow us to further become a hub for the arts community," he said. "We can be better stewards by owning the building."

ArtsBuild works with 14 local arts organizations, raising money and promoting awareness of their programs, events and ultimate goals, but it also publicizes the arts in general in Chattanooga.

Bowers said it will cost about $1.2 million to renovate the Dover Building with new windows, office space and a new entry. The work should be completed by July, he said.

Money for renovation is being borrowed from Cornerstone Community Bank, but Bowers said ArtsBuild's monthly mortgage will be the same or less than what it's now paying in rent.

Chattanooga Publishing is owned by WEHCO Media of Little Rock, Ark. WEHCO Chairman and CEO Walter E. Hussman Jr. said the gift is in keeping with his overall commitment to Chattanooga. Hussman is also chairman and publisher of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

"We have a sincere interest in trying to make the communities we operate in better communities, and we have a long history of trying to support the arts in those communities," Hussman said. "We did something similar here in Little Rock with one of our buildings, where we leased it for 99 years for a dollar to the Museum of Discovery."

Bowers called WEHCO and Hussman "really magnanimous," and the building at King and 11th a "white-hot location."

It's just inside the new Innovation District boundaries proposed last week by Mayor Andy Berke. The district is designed to be a mix of start-up businesses, incubators and innovative companies in a walkable area that also includes coffee shops, restaurants and pubs.

ArtsBuild's new home is across 11th Street from the Fleetwood Coffee Building, which is being renovated into retail and residential space targeted at people working in creative and/or high-tech jobs. It's also about a block away from Douglas Heights, the seven-story, 691-bed apartment complex going up between Douglas Street and M.L. King Jr. Boulevard for students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Hussman said the recent developments in the area are an added bonus.

"Obviously, if it helps renovate the part of town that we are located in; that is a positive for us, too," he said.

photo Artist's rendering of the renovated Dover Building.

Bruce Hartmann, recently named president of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, said, "We feel fortunate to be in a position to support ArtsBuild and help them grow and better define their mission in our community. Giving them a permanent home will help foster arts throughout Chattanooga."

Also moving into the Dover Building will be the Southern Lit Alliance, an ArtsBuild cultural partner that produces the Conference on Southern Literature, and Townsend Atelier, a private arts school and arts supply retailer.

The Southern Lit Alliance and its staff of three will share the third floor with ArtsBuild, which has a staff of six. Townsend Atelier, which is used by a number of arts instructors, will occupy the entire second floor. Townsend Atelier has been on Williams Street for four years and needs more space for its classes.

"We've outgrown our space," said Peggy Townsend, co-owner of Townsend Atelier. "This will mean doubling our classroom space, and we can augment and finish out our retail space."

ArtsBuild is looking for an occupant for the first floor, which is partially below street level.

"We hope to see that space filled by the time we move in in July," Bowers said. "It is important that it be something that is consistent with our mission and that contributes to the cultural community."

The Strauss Co., whose other local projects include 2 North Shore retail center, McKamey Animal Care and First-Centenary United Methodist Church, has been selected to do the renovation work.

The Dover Building has been empty since 2008. Records show that it was purchased in 1911 by H.S. Probasco, who co-founded American National Bank. Over the years, it was home to Arrow Transfer & Storage Co., Densler Electronic Supply Co., Dixie Portland Flour Mill, Dover Elevator Co., EMI Sales and Distributors and Cottage Work Antiques.

Chattanooga Publishing owns several buildings near its main building on 11th Street. Chattanooga News-Free Press publisher Roy MacDonald acquired the properties years ago, using them over the years for everything from storage to garages for the newspaper's vehicles. He bought the Dover Building in 1987.

Bowers said ArtsBuild leaders are considering displays to honor Hussman, as well as former Chattanooga Times publisher Ruth Holmberg and MacDonald, inside the Dover Building.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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