photo by Todd Morgan
Preserve Chattanooga, the historic preservation organization, has sold its portion of the Terminal Station complex on Market Street after protecting it with preservation façade easements.
Formerly known as Cornerstones, the historic preservation nonprofit received the domed former passenger lobby space as a gift in 2018 from Choo Choo Partners LP led by its partners Jon Kinsey, Frank Fowler, Ben Probasco and Fred Skillern. The space continued to be used as a hotel lobby until 2022.
In February, Preserve Chattanooga agreed to sell the centerpiece of the complex to NorthPond Partners LLC, a real estate investment and management company based in Chicago, Illinois. NorthPond had previously purchased the north and south wings of the building along with the Glenn Miller Gardens from Choo Choo Partners LP and has been actively engaged with site improvements.
Under its ownership, Preserve Chattanooga invested over $230,000 on stabilizing and improving the structure. Work completed includes a new roof, various repairs, and preservation studies. A recent grant from the state of Tennessee was used to custom build new front doors that replicated the original design. As part of the sale agreement, NorthPond Partners donated a preservation easement to Preserve Chattanooga that protects both the interior dome and the exterior facade from demolition or inappropriate architectural changes.
“The passenger lobby space is an integral part of how the entire complex functions,” said Todd Morgan, the executive director of Preserve Chattanooga. “It was never meant to be an independent space, separated from the complex as a whole. Our organization is doing what we do best by holding a preservation easement that now protects this landmark property.”
Preserve Chattanooga currently holds preservation easements on important Chattanooga buildings such as the Dome Building, the Customs House, and the Tivoli Center among others, it was stated.
Since 1909, the 82-foot-high domed passenger lobby has greeted visitors to Chattanooga. Designed by architect Donn Barber in the Beaux Arts style, the Terminal Station was a strong statement to the city’s emergence as an important railroad crossroads. It was the first train station in the South to open a pathway to the North by connecting with Cincinnati. Eventually, the Terminal Station was serving 50 passenger trains per day plus freight and package service.
The Terminal Station entrance featured the largest arched window system in the world at the time.
The last train departed in 1970 and the station was closed to the public. It reopened as a hotel complex in 1973 and a new era began. Today, the Terminal Station is home to popular restaurants and entertainment venues.