New faculty townhouse village to be added at McCallie School

On one of the highest points on the 160-acre McCallie School campus in Chattanooga, the private boarding school is preparing to build 16 residential units for its faculty.

The $6 million development is being paid for by contributions from past and present McCallie trustees, plus some gifts from alumni and friends. McCallie Head of School Lee Burns said the project will take advantage of some of the best views of the city and offer great housing to help attract and keep the best faculty.

"Building this faculty village is about doing the right thing by investing in faculty well-being," Burns said in a video message to McCallie School parents and alumni announcing the project. "Giving faculty our best helps them be their best, which, in turn, enables them to give our boys the best and fullest McCallie experience possible."

Contributed rendering of planned townhomes at the McCallie School

The new townhouses, which will each include three or four bedrooms, will be built on the ridge above the Pressly Hall, built in 2007, and Burns Hall, erected in 2010. The site is now used as a parking lot for school vehicles, dubbed the "sky lot."

"This is one of the highest spots on campus and has got to be one of the most impressive parking lots in the city, offering fantastic views of our campus, downtown Chattanooga and the mountains beyond," Burns said. "This area will soon become a lovely faculty village with two- and three-story residences - a village bustling with families and with students connecting with these families."

Burns said the project "is about ensuring that future generations of boys will benefit by transformative relationships with exceptional McCallie faculty."

Work on the new homes is expected to begin later this summer and is scheduled to be completed by the 2022-23 school year.

McCallie School spokesman Bill Steverson said the new faculty homes will replace some of the old faculty housing on the McCallie campus but also add more units. About 56 of the school's faculty members now live on campus, either in the student dorms or in nearby faculty houses.

"This is also a vote of confidence in the Ridgedale community as we add more housing in the neighborhood," Steverson said.

McCallie School, which has nearly 960 students from 6th through 12th grades, houses about 300 boarding students in six dorms on the Chattanooga campus. The college preparatory school was founded in 1905 and operated as a military school from World War I until 1970.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.