Self-storage developer The Natchez Group plans to tear down a rundown motel in Chattanooga, Tenn., and build a mixed-use development that will include self-storage and a commercial center. The Great Value Inn, formerly known as the Cherokee Motel, at 1105 Dayton Blvd. is just north of Stringers Ridge Tunnel, a main route between Chattanooga and Red Bank, Tenn.
Natchez Group is purchasing the 2-acre tract, which includes buildings dating to 1955, from Savi LLC, a privately held company. Construction is slated to begin once the real estate deal closes in September, according to the source. The $6.3 million project will open in the spring.
The three-story storage facility will comprise 75,000 square feet of storage space in 600 units, some of which will offer climate control. The 4,500-square-foot commercial and retail component, which will front Dayton Boulevard, will be built at a later date, the source reported.
The new business will help meet a growing need for self-storage in the community, which has experienced an increase in apartment living, said John Mitchum, a real estate broker for Re/Max Renaissance Realtors. More than 2,000 new apartments will become available in the city in the next few years. “People who live in apartments need somewhere to store their stuff," Mitchum said.
The mixed-use project is part of the city’s ongoing effort to redevelop Dayton Boulevard, said Red Bank Mayor John Roberts. “We're going to help recruit retail to the site.”
Based in Nashville, The Natchez Group was founded in 2013 by local real estate investor Taylor Preston. It has additional storage projects under development in Tennessee, including a six-story, mixed-use development in Germantown, and an eight-story facility in the SoBro neighborhood of Nashville.
Sources:
- Times Free Press: Red Bank Motel to Make Way for Storage, Commercial Center
