Firefighters spray water over the remains of the old Standard Coosa Thatcher plant Tuesday, July 12, 2016, after a fire destroyed part of the structure early Tuesday morning.Smoke poured from windows of a building in the old Standard Coosa Thatcher textile mill around noon Tuesday, some eight hours after a two-alarm fire began burning the structure included in a site that was once one of the biggest employers in the city.
Chattanooga firefighters used a ladder truck to shower water on the building as another worker in a backhoe tore it down so they could identify fire hot spots and put them out, according to Bruce Garner, public information director for the Chattanooga Fire Department.
No one was hurt in the fire and its cause is still under investigation, Garner said.
Developer Tim Boyle said the fire in no way changes his goal to turn the old mill into affordable housing apartments. The fire only underlines the need for development in the area, and he hopes to begin construction on the site in January 2017, he said.
"We've asked for PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes), taxing incentives and financing incentives to help make the project affordable," said Boyle, president of the St. Louis, Mo.-based City Property Co.
Having the tax incentive doesn't cost the city anything at all, he said.
The city did not respond to a request for a comment concerning awarding Boyle tax incentives.
Boyle said he's ready to start construction as soon as he gets more support from the city toward financing.
The goal is to build an estimated $35 million, 170-unit apartment complex. The units would be one- and two-bedroom oversized loft-style apartments.
Rent would be affordable under terms of the U.S. government, Boyle said.
Earlier he said the affordable housing targets renters who earn up to 60 percent of the median income in the Chattanooga area, about $23,160 for an individual or $33,060 for a family of four.
And the housing would bring new life into a community that has housed the vacant 350,000-square-foot dilapidated mill for decades.
"When you start economic development (in this neighborhood), crime and other bad elements move out," Boyle said. "That's what we could do with this project."
Boyle said in the three years that he's been promoting reuse of the building as a loft-style apartment complex, the site stood as an "attractive nuisance and contingent liability, a real detriment to the city" and, specifically, the Oak Grove neighborhood, he said.
The mill began its history in Chattanooga when developers erected its first buildings in 1916. By 1920, another mill and warehouse were added.
In 2012, two area contractors were convicted of violating federal environmental laws during the demolition of a portion of the textile mill that contained large amounts of asbestos.
And in 2015, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The blaze broke out in the old textile building at 3 a.m. Tuesday. Firefighters initially arriving on the scene fought the blaze until their shift ended and they were relieved with another group of firefighters around 7 a.m. They finished putting out hot spots and searched for any fire extension in an adjacent building. The mill includes several large buildings that cover an entire city block, according to a Chattanooga Fire Department news release.
One building burned to the ground and there was some fire extension into an adjacent building. The firefighters spent the last several hours going through the building, room by room, putting out any hot spots they came across. Firefighters rotated out while fighting the fire because of the high heat and humidity. By 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters completed their mop-up operation and left the scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to the release.
Boyle expects to be in Chattanooga on Thursday to get a first-hand view of damages.
On the same day as the fire, the Environmental Protection Agency released a news release stating that EPA will award the City of Chattanooga $400,000 in hazardous supplemental funding for two brownfield projects with $200,000 going to Chattanooga Christian School and the other $200,000 going to Standard Coosa Thatcher mill.
EPA officials said the textile mill will still receive the funding, even after the fire.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.