A cluster of buildings on a historic downtown Chattanooga street has changed hands as a Nashville group purchased the Patten Parkway structures for $4.7 million.
Evelyn Capital of Nashville, an entrepreneurial real estate and investment firm, acquired the two- and three-story buildings that make up more than half the north side of the parkway, said company principal Taylor Preston.
"We look forward to bringing a thoughtful approach to the redevelopment and revitalization of such a key, historic piece of the downtown Chattanooga story," he said in a statement.
The company purchased nearly 35,000 square feet of space on the central city parkway that's within about a block of Miller Park and Miller Plaza.
David DeVaney, president of NAI Charter Real Estate, which sold the property on behalf of the owners, called the 19 Patten Parkway location "an iconic and historic address" in the central business district.
"The renovation of these buildings will have such a long-term positive effect on Chattanooga," he said in a statement. "It is exciting to see out-of-town developers continue to invest in Chattanooga."
The buildings, which house both commercial and residential space, date to about 1900, according to the Hamilton County Assessor of Property's Office. The assessor's office lists the owners as Pamela Rymer O'Dwyer et al.
Patten Parkway was once home to the city's first farmers market and City Hall. The first Coca-Cola bottling company was started on the site in November 1899.
The parkway acquired its name in the 1940s after Z. Cartter Patten, who was a prominent Chattanooga industrialist and capitalist, according to news archives.
Patten had come to Chattanooga in 1865 after the Civil War, and he and a partner opened a bookstore in the area before he sold his interest and then purchased The Chattanooga Times.
In 1906, Patten and his son-in-law, John Thomas Lupton, founded the Volunteer State Life Insurance Co. The Volunteer Building is located on the opposite side of the parkway along with small-shop space from the newly purchased buildings.
A few years ago, Patten Parkway was revitalized in a $4.9 million dollar upgrade.
The new design sought to capture elements of Old Market Square, the city's first farmers market, news archives said. The original Market Square was ultimately toppled in 1943 and a World War II monument was put on the block by the American Legion in 1946.
The renovated block features a $300,000 "Radiance" public art display done by Future Forms Design of San Francisco, which includes three lighted sculptures to help frame the entrance to Patten Parkway off Georgia Avenue.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.