JOHNSON CITY, TN - T. C. Lewis & Company has been acquiring and remodeling homes throughout the downtown district of Johnson City, Tennessee for the last couple of years. The project has lofty goals, and things are on track according to Cory Lewis (President and CEO). "We were presented with a great opportunity a little more than two years ago to acquire some of these properties, and we've been working our way through these homes ever since. To say that these homes were in need of work is a massive understatement."
The project is centered in the neighborhoods around the redeveloping commercial district of downtown Johnson City. Lewis says, "We're acquiring more as we go, and I think that we're almost to the point where some of these neighborhoods are starting to see some substantial positive impact. We're nearing the hump that we'd like to get over in changing the look and feel of some of these neighborhoods. Some of the homes have been vacant for some time, which has invited some crime and squatting. And for some that were occupied, they were occupied by some folks that nobody wanted as a neighbor." Lewis adds, "A lot of these properties are very cool, very architecturally relevant and really deserve to be saved. The city officials in Johnson City have had a tendency to have places bulldozed, and I really hope that changes as we keep working through our properties."
T. C. Lewis & Co. has not requested any public funds or TIF deals to work on the project. "We want to make a big, positive impact in Johnson City. And we don't think that we should take tax dollars away from something else to do it."
