NAI Charter Brokers Historic Miller Brothers Building

CHATTANOOGA, TN — David F. DeVaney of NAI Charter announces the sale of the historic Miller Brothers Building in downtown Chattanooga to Mesa Associates, Inc., an engineering firm based in Huntsville, Alabama. Mesa will occupy the second and third floors of the 132,673 SF building. NAI Charter will handle the leasing for the first and fourth floors.

“The sale allows us to fully realize our goal of consolidating all our office properties and to bring our employees together. At the same time, it supports our intent to find a new business owner who will contribute to Chattanooga’s thriving downtown business district.” said Dan Jacobson, vice president of properties and corporate services for BlueCross. “We’re pleased to have Mesa be the new owner of the historic Miller Building and to contribute to the city.”

Mesa Associates Inc. is a full service engineering, procurement, & construction management firm specializing in electrical utility and industrial markets. Ranjana Savant, President and owner of Mesa stated, “Since our establishment here in 1990, we have steadily grown from 3 employees to over 180. We look forward to continued growth and being a permanent fixture in the downtown community. We intend to keep the traditions, nostalgia, and history of the facility as part of our future.”

The Miller Brothers Building was built in 1898 by architect Reuben Harrison Hunt as a department store. Blue Cross purchased the building in 1986. Over the next 3 years the entire building was renovated to preserve its architectural design. Until recently it had housed about 400 BCBS employees, who have now moved to the new corporate headquarters on Cameron Hill. 

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NAI Charter is Chattanooga’s leading commercial and industrial real estate service provider. In 2010, NAI Charter completed over $34 million in transactions. The 39 year old company has a staff of 7 full-time brokers, 4 of them holding the SIOR designation, 4 holding the CCIM designation and 1 holding the MAI designation. NAI Charter is a member of the NAI Global. NAI Global has members in over 350 cities worldwide and a transaction volume of over $40 billion dollars, 200 MSF of property under management and is the largest managed network of real estate service providers.