How We Help Bring Communities Together With Renovation
Wednesday, October 28th, 2015
One of the things I love most about Knoxville is that it’s a city with a small town vibe. As a professional builder-remodeler, I really enjoy renovating old buildings (particularly those owned by small businesses), because of how those changes help businesses become more successful and impact the community.
Our most recent project involved turning a 1970’s car transmission shop into what is now known as The Central Collective, a combination of passions. In it, you will find not cars and parts, but Dale’s Fried Pies, the Shawn Poynter Photography studio, and a non-profit organization, the Center for Rural Strategies. Here’s our story of how it happened.
About two years ago, Shawn and Dale bought an abandoned building on North Central Street. They came to us and shared their high hopes of turning into a beautiful place where the could do what they love and connect with people. We were excited about their vision and partnered with them help make it a reality.
We completely gutted the building and redid everything from the infrastructure to the finishes as we transformed the rundown garage into a functional beautiful space. (See the beginning of the project
here.) The biggest challenge we faced was bringing the building back up to code. The
structure, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing all needed a significant amount of work to meet today’s standards.
Design wise, I love that we were able to keep original feel of the old garage with structural beams, exposed ceilings, brick walls, and a refinished concrete floor. The before and after pictures speak volumes. It was truly is an amazing renovation.
On Sunday, we had the privilege of attending the ribbon cutting ceremony and were reminded just how much this renovation meant to the owners as well as the community. It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day tasks of a long project like this one, but the ceremony reminded me (and my team) of how great it feels to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. It is very satisfying to know that we were a key component of bringing an old building back to life, back to purpose, and that we gave Shawn and Dale a better opportunity to achieve their dreams and bring people together.
Special thanks to Inside of Knoxville for providing us with excellent photography.
We are always looking for ways to impact our community. Read about the time we partnered with Rebuilding Together to give a sweet little girl a better backyard here.
Have a business that needs some work?
We can help!
McCamy Construction is a licensed light commercial contractor. We work on complete light to medium commercial construction projects, specializing in tenant finish-out. We can do anything from a complete renovation (starting from cinder block walls and bare floors) to something more simple (installing cabinetry and new lighting). View several of our finished projects and a list of our satisfied clients here or contact us for more information.
Tags: 923 North Central Street, Center for Rural Strategies, Dale's Fried Pies, Shawn Poynter Photography, The Central Collective
