An investor group announced that it is planning the development of an upscale 150-room hotel in the historic Chattanooga Bank Building.
MCA is comprised of 20 EB-5 investors as limited partners with Red Leaf Development, managed by David Roos, as the general partner. Long-time partner PHG is involved in the development of the hotel and will be responsible for its management once complete.
The 10-story building is one of the largest in the city and was built in 1927. It features over 121,000 square feet and was designed originally to house the Chattanooga Savings Bank; it was modified in 1929 when the company was absorbed by First National Bank. Most of the building was then devoted to commercial office space and small shops. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
In AMCA, 20 EB-5 investors will contribute $10,000,000 as part of a roughly $31,000,000 project that expects to create 239 jobs. Construction will begin in 2015. The final product will be a 150 room hotel with two ground-level restaurants.
Officials said the project "takes advantage of significant tax credits that will be used to pay down project debt and redeem EB-5 investors once the project is complete and they are eligible. The EB-5 fundraising for this project was exceptionally fast, and the project was sold out almost immediately after it was presented to the network of overseas consultants. Investors began filing I-526 petitions on this project in August 2014 and the partnership is diverse, with investors coming from China, Taiwan, and Vietnam."