For many businesses, office aesthetics are often pushed aside in favor of other improvements. For the RiverCity Company in Chattanooga, the aesthetics of the office are a top priority.
July of last year brought many changes to the RiverCity Company, including the addition of Kim White as the company’s CEO. With these changes came a major office renovation and a fresh new outlook for the company.
Created in 1986 to implement the Tennessee Riverpark master plan, RiverCity’s mission is “to ensure a vibrant and attractive downtown that is the economic, social and cultural centerpiece of the Chattanooga region by developing downtown real estate, making and programming great urban spaces, and employing creative urban design.”
Kim’s passion for the city of Chattanooga is an asset to both her company and the community at large. She works diligently to ensure a bright future for Chattanooga and says that the recent office renovations were a move to help the company better accomplish its mission.
“When companies are considering doing business in Chattanooga and visiting our city, RiverCity Company is one of the first places they come,” Kim explains. “It had been quite a while since anything had been done to our office, and it is important that the space reflect the quality of work that we have done within the city of Chattanooga.”
A Chattanooga native and UTC graduate, Kim has seen firsthand the changes that RiverCity Company helped bring about in the community. “I grew up here and was away for 23 years,” she says. “I think you can sometimes appreciate things more from a distance. I appreciate what has happened in Chattanooga since I left.”
Kim has been inspired by the positive changes in the community, as well as the support available to new businesses. “It is so easy to get connected,” she says. “The city really welcomed me with open arms, and I wanted to give back.”
The RiverCity Company has provided Kim with the perfect opportunity to give back to her community. The company’s new office space offers the ideal environment to show potential business owners and investors all that downtown Chattanooga has to offer.
The view from the office, which is located downtown in the middle of Miller Plaza, allows visitors to peer into the city from an outstanding vantage point. Additionally, the outdoor patio was designed to accommodate meetings.
Inside, the RiverCity Company’s office boasts a large conference room with a satellite image wall map that allows guests to see downtown from a different perspective. Kim says she wants the office space to welcome clients to the Tennessee Valley.
“I want the office to be an inviting space in the heart of the city that assures visitors that the downtown is in good hands and that we understand urban development,” Kim says. “Everything we do focuses on downtown, so it is great to be right in the heart of the city, surrounded by energy. We are right in the middle of Miller Plaza, which we own and operate, and this area really reflects the diversity and variety of the people of Chattanooga.”
But for Kim, the best part of her office is not the new patio furniture or the satellite wall map – it’s the commute. “The best part of my office is that it is right next door to my home – that really cuts down on the transportation costs,” she says.
Kim’s life is a reflection of her passion for downtown Chattanooga. “I live, work and play downtown,” she says. “Sometimes I feel like Mary Tyler Moore.”
The updated RiverCity Company office is not just meant to accommodate a nine-to-five work environment; the space accommodates other uses, as well.
“We will have sponsor parties every night of Nightfall this year,” Kim says. “We’ll use the outdoor patio, which will give partygoers a unique perspective of this popular evening concert series.”
From traditional meetings to casual outdoor parties, RiverCity Company’s newly renovated office space is sure to support a bright future for the company,
as well as the people of Chattanooga.