University of the South taps Chattanooga developer for new, mixed-use 'Sewanee Village'

A conceptual site drawing of one of the first buildings set to go up in the new Sewanee Village development. The mixed-use building will include commercial tenants in the first floor, including a food market, and apartments on the second floor. Plans are subject to change. / Contributed photo from River Street Architecture
A conceptual site drawing of one of the first buildings set to go up in the new Sewanee Village development. The mixed-use building will include commercial tenants in the first floor, including a food market, and apartments on the second floor. Plans are subject to change. / Contributed photo from River Street Architecture

The University of the South has teamed up with one of the biggest developers in Chattanooga to remake and revitalize the small, college town of Sewanee just west of the Interstate 24 corridor.

Sewanee and BP Construction, which is responsible for the Cambridge Square development in Ooltewah and the West Village district in downtown Chattanooga, have partnered to bring a mixed-use development to downtown Sewanee called "Sewanee Village." BP Construction is set to break ground on construction this spring on what University of the South's Vice-Chancellor John M. McCardell, Jr. refers to as a project that will make Sewanee a "stronger" and "truer" version of itself.

"If you look back over the 150 years of the university's history, you'll discover that once upon a time there was an active and engaged retail district you would find in many small, college towns," McCardell said. "There were all of these things that make a small town vibrant and distinctive. Over time, most of those providers went away."

photo A conceptual site drawing of one of the first buildings set to go up in the new Sewanee Village development. The mixed-use building will include commercial tenants in the first floor, including a food market, and apartments on the second floor. Plans are subject to change. / Contributed photo from River Street Architecture

University of the South is a private, liberal arts college with roughly 1,800 students and 600 faculty and staff, and the town of Sewanee has about 2,000 other residents, as well. While the mixed-use development in the downtown district would certainly benefit those at the school - 96 percent of undergraduate students live on campus, according to the school's website - McCardell said they are hoping it will also attract new residents and travelers along I-24 who are driving between Nashville and Chattanooga. The mountain town of Sewanee is located about an hour northwest of Chattanooga and is on the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau.

Frank Gladu, special assistant to McCardell, has been dedicated to the Sewanee Village plans for the past few years. While the development has a 100-year plan, there are five projects that should be "substantially completed" by 2022, McCardell said.

The projects include relocating the campus bookstore, adding civic space downtown, creating a mixed-use building with a grocery market and apartments above; different housing products, including for sale and rental homes; and working with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to narrow U.S. Route 41 through Sewanee.

Longer term, school officials said there will be parking and stormwater studies done and bigger projects, like a new hotel or inn and a senior living facility.

The town of Sewanee is unique in that University of the South owns all the land and businesses lease the property from the school. Jim Cheney, vice president of marketing for BP Construction, said BP is the developer and will own the buildings when they are completed.

"Most people looking at our downtown would agree that it resembles what some might call a hodgepodge, but at the same time, that is part of the distinctiveness of the area," McCardell explained. "(The Village) will make that more distinctive rather than obliterate it."

Franklin County - where Sewanee is located - has just 41,000 residents. Franklin County Mayor and former state representative David Alexander is a big proponent of the development, stating it has been a long time coming for the county, which has attracted several vacationers and retirees in the past several years to Tim Ford's Lake in the valley.

Alexander said he thinks it will help grow the county and attract more people who want to move out of big cities and head toward more rural areas. For the most part, he said he thinks residents are on board.

"There's going to be some old businesses and properties that are going to be repurposed and they are not excited, but unfortunately, the old has to make way for the new," he said. "When it is as carefully thought through as this project is it will be good for the area."

Cheney said that part of BP Construction's marketing approach will be to attract local brands and retailers within the larger region to come to Sewanee. School officials said they have been in talks with BP for over two years, and they are drawn to the fact that they are a local company and like what they have done in Ooltewah's Cambridge Square.

"The University of the South is a prestigious institution and their vision for a vibrant village has tremendous potential," Cheney said in a statement. "When you consider the natural beauty and amenities of the location and the historical and cultural impact of the university, you have the makings of something special."

For more information on the concept and design plans, visit sewanee.edu/village.

Contact staff writer Allison Shirk Collins at ashirk@timesfreepress.com, @AllisonSCollins or 423-757-6651.

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