History and Future

It's clear, just looking at our main entrance, that the Market Street Lofts building history is closely tied to railroad history, specifically the Southern Railway System. Southern has a unique history – expansion through acquisition, devastation during the Civil War, financial rescue from J.P. Morgan, and ultimately a merger which halted the company’s need for our building.

Our location at 13^th and Market also has a unique heritage; a heritage which predates our building, which involves a state-of-the-art passenger station, and which involves a U.S. Supreme Court case. Our building has seen a mix of uses over the years – Chattanooga Headquarters for the railway, a short-lived run as an eclectic nightclub, offices for the Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprises, and the Southern Railway Loft Apartments – before finding its true purpose as the 34 residential condos now known as the Market Street Lofts.

The following information presents the history of our building, from multiple perspectives with overlapping timelines.

Southern Railway History

The Southern Railway System, as it became to be known, was created through the combination of nearly 150 different rail lines, beginning in the 1830's. The earliest predecessor line was the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road which was chartered in 1827. Initially owning only 6 miles of track just outside Charleston, South Carolina, the company by 1833 had built a 136-mile line to Hamburg, South Carolina and at that time was the longest in the world. As railroad fever struck other Southern states, networks gradually spread across the South and even across the Appalachians. By 1857, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was completed to link those two cities. But rail expansion in the South was halted with the start of the Civil War.

The Battle of Shiloh, the Siege of Corinth and the Second Battle of Corinth in 1862 were motivated by the importance of the Memphis and Charleston line, the only East-West rail link across the Confederacy. The Chickamauga Campaign for Chattanooga was also motivated by the importance of its rail connections to the Memphis and Charleston and other lines. Late in the war, the Richmond and Danville Railroad was the Confederacy's last link to Richmond, and transported Jefferson Davis and his cabinet to Danville, Virginia just before the fall of Richmond in April 1865.

The Civil War left the South's railroads and economy devastated. Most of the railroads, however, were repaired, reorganized and operated again. In the area along the Ohio River and the Mississippi River, construction of new railroads continued throughout Reconstruction. The Richmond and Danville System expanded throughout the South during this period, but was overextended, and came upon financial troubles in 1893, when control was lost to financier J.P. Morgan, who reorganized it into the Southern Railway System. Its system map in 1895 showed an extensive network of rail lines that provided access to most of the railroad hubs in the Southeastern United States.

Southern's first president, Samuel Spencer, drew more lines into Southern's core system. During his 12-year term, the railway built new shops at Spencer, North Carolina, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia, built and upgraded tracks, and purchased more equipment. He moved the company's service away from an agricultural dependence on tobacco and cotton and centered its efforts on diversifying traffic and industrial development. Somewhat ironically, Spencer was killed in a train wreck in 1906.

After the line from Meridian, Mississippi to New Orleans, Louisiana was acquired in 1916 under Southern's president Fairfax Harrison, the railroad had assembled the 8,000-mile, 13-state system that lasted for almost half a century. By 1921, Southern’s system map was greatly expanded and it was the predominant player in the region for several decades.

Growth for the system continued, profitability surged and the Southern logo could be found in nearly every port and town across the Southeast. It’s motto, “The Southern Serves the South” had become a reality.

Regional rail providers soon saw the need to provide services across the nation and in response to the creation of the CSX Corporation in 1980, the Southern Railway joined forces with the Norfolk and Western Railway to form Norfolk Southern Corporation in 1982, further consolidating railroads in the eastern half of the United States and bridging across the United States.

1301 In a Past Life

Welcome to Chattanooga, GA?

The land where our building sits was once owned by the State of Georgia and was covered with cross ties and steel of a major rail yard in Chattanooga. It all stated in 1837, when Georgia began construction of a railroad, known as the Western & Atlantic Railroad, extending from Atlanta to Chattanooga. This rail line was seen as a crucial artery for Georgia to move goods from Georgian seaports through Atlanta to a point on the Tennessee River which would provide further passage via the Ohio River to the Mississippi River valley.

For several years, the Western & Atlantic from Atlanta would stop on the south side of Chetoogeta Mountain and offload its cargo for horse-drawn transport through mountain passes, then reload waiting trains on the north side of the mountain for travel farther north. This required offload and reload process was eliminated with completion of a 1,497 foot long railroad tunnel located at what is now known as Tunnel Hill. The tunnel was the first railroad tunnel to be completed south of the Mason-Dixon line and was dedicated on October 31, 1849.

To move cargo as far north as possible without having to complete the haul by wagon, the State of Georgia negotiated with the State of Tennessee for access to Chattanooga by rail. With permission granted from the Tennessee Legislature to acquire the necessary right of way, Georgia started purchasing land starting at the state line and then north. In 1852, Georgia extended its land acquisition to include an 11 acre parcel, then situated on the outskirts of Chattanooga, on which to locate its northern-most rail yard.

The photograph above shows the Western & Atlantic rail yard in Chattanooga circa 1910. The divided street in the foreground is Broad Street, Market Street lies to the left, and buildings that remain today, the Patten Hotel (now Patten Towers) and Warehouse Row are clearly visible. As a reference for several owners at Market Street Lofts, the Pickle Barrel is also indicated. Georgia’s parcel included sites where current day buildings sit – the Chattanooga Public Library, the TVA complex, and the EPB's offices – including where the popular Nightfall concerts are held in Miller Park.

The buildings which cause Broad Street to divert are located at 9^th Street (now MLK) and as Chattanooga began to push south, the extension of Broad Street south to Main Street was needed to accommodate the growth. The city issued notice of eminent domain to Georgia, requiring Georgia to cede the right of way it has previously purchased. Georgia ignored the notice, claiming sovereignty that it could not be sued in Tennessee courts, and the ensuing court battle worked its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. (State of Georgia v. City of Chattanooga, 1923-1924). The Court ruled in favor of the city, citing that Georgia does not have sovereignty as a landowner in another state. State courts then had clearance to adjudicate the eminent domain claim and both sides began a protracted battle in Tennessee.

Either impatient for or optimistic of the court ruling, Chattanooga Commissioner Ed Bass organized crews to begin demolition of buildings and tracks required for the Broad Street extension. In 1926, on a Saturday when the courthouse was closed and when obtaining an injunction to stop demolition was impossible, crews began the demolition. Working through the nights on Saturday and Sunday, the path had been cleared and in the early hours of Monday morning, with the Commissioner on hand to direct cars as they drove through the new road while a band played ‘Marching through Georgia.’

Within a year, Bass was elected mayor – he won re-election four times. Georgia eventually agreed to the city’s use of the property to extend the road. It wasn’t until much later, 1972 (under then-governor Jimmy Carter), that Georgia began selling the land it once owned. The former Plaza Hotel (now the Pickle Barrel building) was purchased by the city in 1976 for $51,000. The Chattanooga Chamber Foundation bought the block between Market and Broad and 10^th and 11^th Streets for $1 million in 1977 and the city paid $460,000 for the block between Market and Broad and MLK and 10^th Streets in 1978. The TVA site was purchased in 1979 for $425,000. The last sliver of land sold by Georgia was in 2005 and included the tract across the street from our building, on King Street, just to the south of the ADM mill.

Revitalization at 1301

In May 2000, Mainstream Development Corporation of Altamont Springs, Florida negotiated with the city to purchase the former Southern Railway System building. With a purchase price of $300,000 and a renovation budget of $2.6 million, Mainstream, led by its president, John O’Donnell, began one of the first and largest building revitalization efforts in the Southside district. Plans for the structure included first floor commercial space topped by two floors of apartments.

Great consideration to the historical aspects of the building was maintained throughout the renovation. Doors, millwork and interior fixtures initially installed by the railroad were saved, reconditioned, and reused. Existing concrete floors were preserved, stained and sealed. The building’s existing windows, however, had to stay – the historic district tax credits used by the Mainstream didn’t allow the windows of the building to be replaced.

Work progressed quickly, and just over a year later, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE) moved into its new first-floor headquarters. With about 10,000 square feet of office, meeting, and classroom space, CNE’s 48 employees had modern, yet historically preserved, place to work. An September 8, 2001 article in the Chattanoogan touted “cubicles designed for computer technology with work lights under the wall cabinets to illuminate the work area” and “the latest sophisticated security system including ‘prox (proximity) reader’ cards which are simply held in front of the scanner to gain entrance.”

The same article referenced that 22 loft apartments are being “marketed immediately and scheduled to be available mid-October.” Those loft apartments, the Southern Railway Loft Apartments, were to range from 1,000 to 1,400 square feet and rent for $750 to $1,000 a month.

Reviews of the Southern Railway Lofts from an apartment rating website provided both the highs and lows of the building and the Southside location.

“There are some amusing things to discover here...like the fact that some outlets don't work and that many are installed upside-down. BUT - the spaces are huge - the windows are cool - the roof deck has lovely views - there's gated parking.”

“I can occasionally hear a neighbor in the throes of passion as the one wall that connects our units could be better insulated - but... I just turn up The Simpsons. It's not lavish finishes you get here - it's location and square footage. The fancier St. Johns' apartments hear the fire engines race up Market Street too.”

“I lived in the apt for a year and I absolutely loved it.....I almost kept it just to have a great place stay while I visit family in Chattanooga. It is a New York/Boston Loft feel to it. Walking distance to UTC and all the night life offered by downtown. Public transportation is right outside the front door. Fine dining on both sides of the apt......really an experience I would go back to any time.”

“I moved in a couple months after Southern Railway opened mainly for the location and space. The quality of construction was really poor. I could hear my neighbor open and close cabinets, watch TV, fight and many other things I won't go in to. Not to mention the train on one side and the car shop on the other, and the fire engine blasting by all night. Every person that I knew there moved out as soon as their lease was up, some even earlier”

In 2007, the building was purchased by Market Street Lofts, LLC (with John O’Donnell as the LLC manager) and the property was converted to condominiums, creating the Market Street Loft Condominium Owners Association, Inc. (the COA) and sales of the former second and third floor apartments began. Launched in August 2007, five residential condos were purchased by year-end.

The housing market at this time was in a significant downturn and sales of the residential units dropped off significantly. It took four more years to sell the next five condos – two new owners joined the building in 2008, one new owner in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

With adjustment to asking prices to reflect the current market value, 2012 saw eight new owners join the building. 2013 brought three new owners and, with only one unit remaining, the developer turned over control of the COA to the ownership group in October of 2013. Elections held at that time named four residential owners and the one commercial owner to the inaugural board. The remaining residential unit in the building was sold in February of 2014.

With an owner-controlled COA, work began immediately to address some of the deferred maintenance, safety, and sanitary concerns that have gone unchecked during the down market. The ownership group held its first owners work day in April of 2014 – the event, attended by over 20 owners, residents and friends, provided a deep cleaning of the building’s interior, and refresh of some exterior areas, and a fresh coat of paint on the roof-top deck.

In 2015, John O’Donnell approached the board seeking permission to convert the first floor commercial space to residential condos. With near unanimous approval by the ownership group, our governing documents were changed to permit a fully-residential condominium complex. In June 2015, demolition of the former commercial space began and, upon approval of proposed plans for the twelve new residential units envisioned on the first floor in September, construction of the first floor units began.

A year later, through several months of construction debris, dust and disruption, construction of the first floor units was nearing completion. Several of the new residential units were under contract and Market Street Lofts was soon to become home to twelve new owners.

The history of our location at 1301 Market and our ties to the Southern Railway is interesting to say the least. The vision for what Market Street Lofts could become can be attributed to John O’Donnell. The future for the condo association will be charted by the owners who understand the history of our unique building, share the passion for what our building offers, and get involved in the community that has been developed at Market Street Lofts – those who call 1301 home.