Chattanooga-based hotel operator Vision Hospitality Group bought a key corner in the south of the city center, where they are comparing the next step for the large-scale package.
Vision, which has 41 hotels and 17 in the Chattanooga area, can be accommodated on Broad and Main streets, said Andrew Hibbard, the company’s senior vice president of finance and investments.
But the company also built an apartment complex on the North Shore a few years ago, and its offices are in mixed-use construction at 411 Broad Street, he said.
“We are locating,” Hibbard said of the use of the plot at 1400 Broad St. . “A hotel is an imaginable possibility. But at the same time, it will be driven through the market. “
It was celebrated for many years by CBR Auto Care, which closed its doors last month when owner George Liner retired.
The property, which sold for $3. 25 million, has an existing construction in which one component owned the auto repair business and the other, more recently, a gym.
Plus, there’s plenty of parking space on the lot, Hibbard said.
“We’re in intermediate uses,” he said. It’s a long-term investment. “
Company officials noted that the location is across the street from Broad compared to the planned new Food City supermarket. The grocer is also building townhouses as a component of an allocation value of more than $15 million.
“The bird plant is anything we do when we find out the long-term uses of the land,” Hibbard said. “We’ll have to wait and see how things play out on the south side and at this intersection. “
In September, a construction of 158 apartments near the Pilgrim’s Pride factory was sold for $37. 5 million to a Virginia company.
In addition, veteran Chattanooga restaurateur Rob Gentry and his brother Clay bought a plot near Broad and Main and recently opened a 185-seat dining venue called Hello Monty.
Hibbard said Vision could make small innovations at the former CBR Auto Care property.
“Because it’s smart terrain, we can do several things,” he said. “Right now, we’re comparing what are the most productive uses of those other parts. We are very positive about it. “
Earlier this year, Vision opened the Kinley Chattanooga Southside hotel, not from Market Street.
Vision CEO Mitch Patel said the time has come to open the 64-room, $ 14 million boutique hotel. In the past 3-4 years, more businesses and citizens have come to the Southside and it has prospered, he said.
The Kinley was already in preparation when the coronavirus pandemic hit in early 2020. This summer, Vision also opened a seven-story Aloft hotel next to Hamilton Place Mall as a component of the remodeling of a former Sears store.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress. com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.