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The Business Development Center is a jewel to the fledgling business owners who find their way to success with the support services in the facility.
But the 80-year-old building is also a diamond in the rough with poor air circulation, a mottled exterior and leaky ceilings. Now the Chamber-managed business incubator is set for a $5 million renovation that will restore its looks, increase its usefulness and cut costs for its tenants.
The renovation, which will begin in August and wrap up next spring, will bring a new roof, a new HVAC system, a refortified exterior and more square footage. The stolid brick landmark will turn green at the same time with LEED certification.
But a key update benefit won’t be discernable to the naked eye. The renovations promise to reduce energy consumption by roughly 40 percent – a modification that will eventually profit BDC tenants and the city and county which support the facility.
“Installing a more efficient HVAC unit will help reduce overhead costs for our tenants and actively contribute to our city’s quest to lower energy consumption,” said Kathryn Foster, who manages the BDC. “Every window will be replaced with thermally-based panes and each hallway will see the installation of energy efficient T8 light bulbs. The advantages of becoming a LEED-certified building are going to scrawl themselves onto the bottom line.”
One of the most exciting new features of the transformed BDC, says Foster, will be the business training center on the first floor.
“We are really looking forward to enhancing our technological infrastructure,” she said. “The center will boast smart boards, projectors and flexible computer training layouts. Our tenants will be able to send and receive larger files and will have access to more conference rooms.”
And the BDC tenants – which typically number 60 or more – won’t be the only beneficiaries of the business training center, she said.
“We will have the ability to open the use of our training center to the region,” Foster said. “We have a variety of resources we already extend to clients, but we will soon be able to share them with the business community as a whole. We want the BDC to serve as a technological resource hub for small businesses in Chattanooga.”
Those who are concerned the massive reconstruction will alter the physical character of the North Shore landmark can put their worries to rest.
“The BDC is a long-standing focal piece on the North Shore. We are making sure the changes we make won’t damage the aesthetic integrity of the building,” said Foster. “This has been an important consideration in all of our planning.”
Once home to American Lava, the BDC is the third largest small business incubator in the country and the largest in the state. It will remain fully operational throughout the project.
Roughly 400 new jobs are created each year through the BDC. In 2009 the incubator graduated 23 new businesses. Touting an impressive 91 percent success rate, the BDC pumps $7.5 million dollars a year into the economy in gross wages.
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