McCallie Avenue apartments, day care proposed in $8 million Chattanooga project

Staff photo by Mike Pare / A brick building on McCallie Avenue is slated to undergo renovation into The Stanley School day care facility. The tract also is to hold a 24-unit apartment building.
Staff photo by Mike Pare / A brick building on McCallie Avenue is slated to undergo renovation into The Stanley School day care facility. The tract also is to hold a 24-unit apartment building.

A Chattanooga developer plans to build new apartments and a day care facility off McCallie Avenue, citing the proximity to the city's major hospitals.

A 24-unit apartment building and a 17,000-square-foot day care facility are slated to go up on the 1800 McCallie Ave. parcel, developer John Wise said.

The $8 million project will hold one- and two-bedroom apartments, while the day care site will go into an existing building, he said in a telephone interview.

Julie Thomas, president and co-founder of The Stanley School day care, said that facility is to open Sept. 1 and provide Chattanooga with much-needed child care services.

"This will be an above average day care experience," she said by phone. "Without a doubt, this is needed there."

The red brick, multi-level building, which last housed offices for the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, has a lot of character, which the day care intends to keep, Thomas said.

"We're saving the building," she said. "It's too glorious not to."

She said while the building is made ready, another structure behind it is undergoing remodeling for executive offices and a model classroom so prospective clients can see a typical setup.

"That will be a big plus," Thomas said.

Wise has sought a rezoning of the three-quarter-acre McCallie Avenue property, which is bordered by Duncan Avenue and Hawthorne Street, from residential to commercial. The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission is expected to consider the request Monday.

Wise said the day care facility will open first. The apartments, which are undergoing design, are expected to open in 2023, he said.

Parking will be on-site, Wise said, adding it's too early to provide the price points to rent the apartments.

Thomas said The Stanley School, that she has jointly formed with her son and daughter, will serve as the flagship location for other such day care facilities in the region. Sites are eyed for Franklin, Tennessee, and outside Birmingham, Alabama, she said.

Thomas said she has heard Chattanooga is "a child care desert."

"That's 100% accurate," she said. "The need for high-level child care is beyond necessary."

The planned apartments join an array of new rental units proposed by developers. Also on Monday, the planning commission will consider about 350 new apartments on a vacant tract at 702 Manufacturers Road.

Beacon Companies of Nashville, too, has plans to build about 10,000 square feet of retail space along the road and offer a place for a riverfront restaurant in the project that's estimated at up to $90 million, said Chris Rudd of the Nashville development group by phone.

Also, the planning panel will examine a proposal for one of the largest new apartment projects in Hixson in a move to meet the demand in that growing area.

Up to 250 apartments are to go into the 6814 Hixson Pike project, which is estimated to cost between $40 million and $50 million, developer Kevin Boehm said.

"There certainly is a need in that market," he said in a telephone interview earlier this month.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.

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