The rusty remains of the former Wheland and U. S. foundries. Pipe in South Chattanooga are “a long-standing horror” for Mayor Tim Kelly and a disturbing advent to what is billed as “Gig City” for millions of motorists entering Chattanooga via Interstate 24.
But for developer Jim Irwin, the former 140-acre production site provides one of the maximum productive opportunities for urban renewal at one of Chattanooga’s gates. the old foundries are “one of the most beautiful sites of my career” for remodeling.
“You have Disney World here,” he says, describing the terrain between South Broad Street and Interstate 24.
Irwin, the founder and president of New City LLC in Atlanta, selected through the owners of the Chattanooga deserted foundries as the lead developer of the South Side site. Gary Chazen, president of Perimeter Properties, who purchased the former Wheland Foundry site in 2002 and the U. S. property. USA
“We looked for something special for this site and turned down many opportunities that just weren’t suitable for these assets,” Chazen said. personally what I need to see when I drive around the city. These are iconic buildings that deserve to be preserved; and it took time, I think we have the assets preserved and in a position to bring in someone, now, jim Irwin caliber. “
This is a role Irwin has played in the regression of other urban wastelands in Atlanta, Nashville and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Working with other developers and partners before and after his own growth company, New City LLC, in 2016, Irwin led real estate advancements and consulting operations totaling more than $2 billion in completed or planned projects of former abandoned industrial sites.
The 43-year-old developer is not your typical real estate investor. Instead of building on undeveloped land, Irwin looks for tactics to reinvent existing properties, adding those that have fallen out of favor.
As an English major in college, Irwin knows the strength of stories and researches the history of property.
“I technically try to assign one and both buildings a bit like Indiana Jones, locating the history of the property,” he says. “I love the harsh story of redemption and rejuvenation that can be imagined with those buildings to keep the special and exclusive. “while locating new tactics to reinvent both properties. “
On the south side of Chattanooga, where the Wheland Foundry and U. S. Pipe frames recall the city’s commercial past, Irwin sees the opportunity to rebuild the remaining metal beams and the foundry site as a combination of entertainment, housing, and leisure. With the framework of the old foundries, which were once among Chattanooga’s largest industries, Irwin wants to frame the outer walls of a new ball box that will be operated through Chattanooga Lookouts. Around the stadium, Irwin sees the possibility of restaurants, bars, townhouses, apartments, s and shops.
“Whether it’s an area for the network to work, buy, eat or live, each and every asset deserves to come with an attractive combination of uses, inspire walking and come up with the newest inventions in generation and sustainability,” says Irwin. from its technique to development. .
Irwin’s previous projects include Ponce City Market and Fourth Ward in Atlanta, Neuhoff in Nashville and Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, among others.
At age 27, Irwin led the development of Harrison Square in Fort Wayne, Indiana, while applying for Atlanta-based Barry Genuine Estate Companies. Since opening to the public, the ballpark has been named “the nation’s “best overall minor league baseball experience” for 4 years apart.
Chattanooga’s assignment reunites Irwin with Hard Ball Capital (the Atlanta-based Chattanooga Lookouts), Fort Wayne Tincaps and Columbia Fireflies.
* Employment: Founder and president of New City LLC in Atlanta, who decided to be the lead planner for the remodeling of the former Wheland Foundry and U. S. sites. USA Penis
* Age: 43
* Career: After college, she served as a legislative assistant to two senators and a representative of the United States.
* Education: He earned his English degree from Dartmouth College, where he played for 4 years and a master’s degree in business administration from Emory University, focusing on real estate finance.
* Staff: Jim and his wife, Elisabeth, in Atlanta with their 3 children.
Chattanooga’s allocation also resembles a component of Atlanta’s Ponce City Market Area appeal, which has evolved along the city’s East Beltline pedestrian bridge. On the south side, the ancient sites of Wheland and THE U. S. Usa from Chickamauga Dam to St. Elmo and finally to Lookout Mountain.
“What attracted New City to this task was the opportunity to combine our adaptive reuse expertise with our interest in building hot areas that the surrounding grid can adopt,” he says. “There’s a difficult story at this site — a key industry pillar on the network for more than a century , and Gary Chazen and his partners have entrusted us with the opportunity to help repair it for generations. “
Irwin says the more he looks at the opportunity in Chattanooga, “the more excited I get when I think about what it can become. “
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger are making plans for the Southside site, with a new stadium for the Lookouts, to attract at least $350 million in personal investment, and Coppinger believes the domain could eventually attract more than a billion dollars in projects.
Prior to founding New City six years ago, Irwin served as senior vice president at Jamestown Properties, leading the progress of Ponce City Market, which attracted Wall Street corporations such as J. P. Morgan and Black Rock. Ponce City Market has one of Atlanta’s most sensible attractions. through the conversion of a former Sears distribution facility, Roebuck
In Nashville, in 2019, Irwin’s organization acquired the 14-acre Neuhoff site on the west bank of the Cumberland River in the eastern component of Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood. a mixed-use development that houses the Nashville Jazz Workshop and the Nashville Cultural Arts Project, among others.
“We’ve controlled reinventing those iconic urban sites in other cities, and I see doing it in Chattanooga being huge,” Irwin said.