M.L. King property values rise

The idea of selling a house for $100,000 in the inner-city M.L. King community was "unheard of" before M.L. King Tomorrow formed, said the group’s consultant, Donna C. Williams.
   "It was laughable, so when they heard what (developers) Moses Freeman and James Pratt were doing, people thought they were foolish," she said.
   In 2003, Mr. Freeman and Mr. Pratt of the Chattanooga Urban Development Corp. bought six vacant lots on Park Avenue. They built houses on the lots which have all sold with prices ranging from $150,000 to $250,000. Mr. Freeman was among more than 30 developers, general contractors and residents who came to Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise last week to learn about M.L. King Tomorrow’s second round of lots.
   M.L. King Tomorrow is a partnership created in 2003 by the Lyndhurst Foundation and CNE. It was developed to encourage market-rate residential development in the M.L. King neighborhood, once known for its crime and nightclubs.
   Bids for M.L. King Tomorrow’s second round of lots should be submitted to CNE by 3 p.m. Friday. CNE also is accepting bids for three vacant lots on East 38th Street in Alton Park.
   M.L. King Tomorrow will pay an incentive of $5,000 to $10,000 to homebuyers.
   All lots in the M.L. King community will be within walking distance of Whiteside Park, which will be built behind Whiteside’s Faith Manor on the 700 block of M.L. King Boulevard. Chattanooga is funding the $208,000 park in partnership with the Lyndhurst Foundation.
   Whiteside’s Faith Manor officials also helped plan the design of the park, and they are leasing the land to the city. Construction is expected to begin in January and be complete by mid-September, city officials said.
   Lots also will be near the old Park Place School in the 700 block of M.L. King. The building has sat with broken windows for more than 20 years, but M.L. King officials said they expect it to be transformed into loft condominium apartments. Construction is expected to be complete in December 2005, officials said.
   Mr. Freeman, who was among the first private developers to invest in the neighborhood, said he wants to start construction on more homes before the end of the year.
   "It’s an exciting time in the M.L. King neighborhood, and it’s good to be a part of it, especially if you’re building and developing," said Mr. Freeman, who moved to the neighborhood in February.
   Most builders and contractors investing in the M.L. King neighborhood have been nonprofit organizations like CNE, Habitat For Humanity and Inner City Development Corporation, Ms. Williams said. However, more private, for-profit developers are seeing opportunity to make money and getting involved, she said.
   Gloria Jarrett, who owns an assisted living facility on M.L. King, was among the 30 developers, general contractors and homebuyers at the CNE meeting. She said she is interested in purchasing one of the lots presented by M.L. King Tomorrow.
   "This is like bringing M.L. King back to what we knew it to be and then upgrading it," she said.
   Ms. Jarrett said she was born and raised on East Eighth Street. Several doctors, teachers and other professionals lived in the neighborhood before it started to decline in the late 1970s when professionals began moving to the suburbs, she said.
   M.L. King Tomorrow launched its residential development program in May 2003. Since then, it has sold more than 20 homes that generated more than $15 million worth of development, Ms. Williams said.
   M.L. King Tomorrow officials say the revitalization did not begin with them.
   "There are deep roots in this change movement," said Sarah Morgan, Lyndhurst Foundation program officer.
   M.L. King Tomorrow stands on the shoulders of residents with the M.L. King Neighborhood Association who have worked to get zoning changes that make the community more conducive to single-family homes and apartment complexes, she said.
   Residents also have formed relationships with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Tommie F. Brown Academy of Classical Learning, one of the city’s newest magnet schools, opened in the M.L. King community in 2002. "All of that momentum catches hold and feeds on itself," Ms. Morgan said.
   M.L. King Tomorrow has a goal to sell 100 new or renovated homes by May 2005. "We’re trying to hit hard and think about the things that make M.L. King a great place to live," she said.