Building bungalows

For the first time, two private developers have agreed to buy lots and build market rate houses in the Southside neighborhood being revitalized by Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise.
   BEC Development purchased two lots on Williams Street and started construction on a 1,100-square-foot house. Pratt & Associates bought two lots, also on Williams Street, and has made a commitment to buy five more and plans to start building soon. Both companies initially will build in the bungalow-style associated with homes in North Chattanooga.
   CNE, a private, nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing for people of low to moderate income, in March 2000 began developing Cowart Place in an area bounded by Main, Market, Cowart and 20th streets.
   "We are interested in doing unique projects either in a unique neighborhood or helping somebody rebuild a neighborhood," said James Pratt of Pratt & Associates. "With all the interest in downtown housing, this is a way for us to do a little something down there and do something unique and different."
   BEC Development and HGH Construction already have a commitment to the Southside in general as their offices are at the rear of the Crabtree Condominiums on Williams Street, said John Coffelt, a partner in BEC and owner of HGH. (Oscar Brock and Barry Evans are the other BEC partners.) "We did all the build-outs for the Crabtree. We are interested in this neighborhood. It is an exciting, new and upcoming area."
   "Our key objective is to bring a neighborhood back strong enough to where private entrepreneurs will come. - ed our market-rate building in Cowart Place."
   The involvement of BEC Development and Pratt & Associates in Cowart Place is "absolutely a milestone in terms of producing downtown housing," said Ann Coulter, vice president of the RiverCity Co., the city’s downtown development agency. "It is one of the most visible signs that more new housing is happening downtown. They are being pioneers in the private development market."
   The H.H. Battle Academy of Learning and Teaching under construction at Main and Market streets was another factor that attracted the developers to Cowart Place. "We probably would not have made the decision to go down there without the school," Mr. Pratt said.
   Both developers were complimentary of what CNE has already accomplished in the Southside. "CNE has created a market down there and done a nice job," Mr. Pratt said. "They let private developers come in and finish what they start."
   "CNE is doing the right things," Mr. Coffelt said. "They are trying to maintain some architectural controls and create a quality neighborhood that looks like it’s been in the area. It is quite an undertaking to re-create the fabric of a neighborhood."
   Pratt & Associates’ first bungalows will be one-level, and 1,250 and 1,450 square feet in size and priced from $140,000s to the $160,000s, said Jim Gallagher of Stonebridge Realty. "They are highly intelligent floor plans given the size of the homes."
   The bungalows will be a little larger than the CNE bungalows in Cowart Place, Mr. Pratt said, and feature enhanced bathrooms and closets. "They are a combination of what they (CNE) did and what we do."
   Later, the company may build larger houses on the corner lots it has committed to buy, he said.
   "The arts and crafts bungalow is the house we love to build," Mr. Coffelt said, and that’s what BEC Development is building in Cowart Place. The bungalows will be one-level, 900 to 1,200 feet in size and priced between $125,000 and $140,000. The house BEC is currently building has two bedrooms and two baths and features a front porch and a stoop and patio in the rear. It is priced at $136,900 and expected to be ready for occupancy in mid-September.
   Pratt & Associates is also developing The Traditions, a subdivision off Browntown Road, and Summertown Village at Ramsgate.
   BEC Development is also building cottage-style homes in Knickerbocker in North Chattanooga and at Horse Creek Farms in Red Bank.
   To date, CNE has built 21 townhomes and five bungalows in Cowart Place.