Co-living and co-working space will be offered under one roof as the Tomorrow Building and Society of Work expand to Chattanooga's North Shore.
The live-work concept is anchoring a $17 million development called Somer Station that's now going up on 2.5 acres between Cherokee Boulevard and Somerville Avenue, developer Matt McGauley of FTC Development said.
"Our hope is that people will live in the Tomorrow Building and be Society of Work members as well," he said in an interview Monday about the new 58,000-square-foot project.
The Tomorrow Building, which already offers 39 studios downtown at Patten Parkway, is adding 22 units at Somer Station, said Tiffanie Robinson, founder of the apartment living model started six years ago and aimed at providing housing to budding entrepreneurs, innovators and others.
Robinson said in an interview the studios will occupy a new three-story addition that will connect with a renovated former Chattanooga Printing & Engraving building.
Kelly Fitzgerald, Society of Work founder, said co-working space and 60 offices will go in the revamped two-story Chattanooga Printing structure.
She said in an interview that plans are to continue to offer Society of Work space in the Edney Building downtown at Market and 11th streets.
"The addition of a North Shore location allows companies to expand and continue working together while benefiting from a community of like-minded individuals who live at the Tomorrow Building," Fitzgerald said.
The trio said the live-work collaboration within one development is rare.
"There has only been a handful," Robinson said.
Fitzgerald said that, "hopefully, they'll feed off each other." She said that as the pandemic eases, "co-working is here to stay."
Rents will start at $200 a month, Fitzgerald said.
Robinson said the new studio apartments will range from 400- to 458-square-feet each in size. They'll be furnished, offer 14-foot ceilings and have a small kitchen, Robinson said.
A second-level large kitchen and meeting space also is planned, she said.
Tomorrow Building rental units will go up to $2,000 a month, Robinson said. Rates will include utilities, including EPB's ultra-fast internet.
"We are thrilled to expand co-living options to the North Shore," Robinson said.
The three cited the site's proximity to some of the North Shore's draws, such as the Riverwalk, Coolidge Park and restaurants. The location also will hold parking for residents and Society of Work members.
Robinson and Fitzgerald said they see more people coming to Chattanooga.
"We've seen a lot of new business coming to town," Robinson said.
McGauley said 7,000 square feet of commercial space is planned for Cherokee Boulevard, and tenants are expected to be named soon.
The first Tomorrow Building location opened in a 134-year-old building formerly known as The Ross Hotel and later home to Yesterday's and Midtown Music Hall.
Fitzgerald said the Society of Work was Chattanooga's first co-working concept and was founded in 2013.
McGauley and Robinson earlier this year agreed to work together and form Aslan Holdings.
Fidelity Trust Co., SVN Second Story Real Estate Management and Lamp Post Properties agreed to collaborate though remain separate entities.
Fidelity Trust Co., rebranded as FTC Development, is operating as a boutique commercial real estate development firm specializing in innovative and sustainable adaptive reuse and ground-up projects. SVN Second Story is the operating company handling all property management and maintenance along with leasing and brokerage services.
McGauley also merged his real estate portfolio with that of Lamp Post Properties, making Aslan the largest locally owned portfolio of downtown commercial properties in Chattanooga, they said.
Builder Mike Berry is a partner in the Somer Station project that has BerryHutton as its general contractor.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.