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Posts Tagged ‘Rick Dover Knoxville’

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Developer Richard E. Dover Sells Items from Historic Alexander Inn Ahead of Renovations

In Uncategorized on July 26, 2013 at 8:55 am

Richard-E-Dover-PresentationSolutions-Alexander-Inn-SaleRichard E. Dover is a real estate developer based in Knoxville, Tenn. A Tennessee native, Richard E. Dover has previously worked as a project manager for General Homes of Houston, Texas, as well as for its parent company CBRE. Richard E. Dover was also a self-employed real estate developer until taking the helm of Family Pride Corporation in 1993, a company primarily involved in developing high-quality assisted living facilities.

Presentation Solutions: Mr. Dover, please tell us about your renovation of the historic Alexander Inn.

Richard E. Dover: We are preserving this Oak Ridge historic property by renovating it and converting it into an assisted living facility.

Presentation Solutions: How is it historic?

Richard E. Dover: It was built in 1942, known then as the Guest House, when the Manhattan Project was starting in Oak Ridge. It housed some of the top scientists working on the atomic bomb such as Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi.

Presentation Solutions: How long will the renovation take?

Richard E. Dover: It’s a nine-month process. If you walk along the outside façade of the building today, you can see that there are lots of things that need work.

Presentation Solutions: Such as?

Richard E. Dover: All the windows have to be updated. But since we are committed to a historic renovation, the wood will need to look the same as it originally did.

Presentation Solutions: Your company is called Family Pride Corporation, correct?

Richard E. Dover: That’s right. We’ve done this before and we know we’ve got our work cut out for us. But people have waited a long time for this and we’re ready.

Presentation Solutions: Where are you in the process?

Richard E. Dover: We’ve just finished demolition, removing anything that’s hazardous to our crews. Despite the dilapidated appearance, the building could be a lot worse.

Presentation Solutions: How’s that?

Richard E. Dover: The general structure is in great shape and the areas that are bad, we’ll just start from the ground up and build anew.

Presentation Solutions: Will it be restored to look just like it did in the 1940s?

Richard E. Dover: Yes. As a protected historic site, the inn will be preserved to its original form. We think it’s great any time you can save a historical building like the Alexander Inn that has such a history in Oak Ridge.

Presentation Solutions: We’ve learned that the public has had a chance to own some of this history.

Richard E. Dover: That’s right. During demolition, we found all kinds of furnishings that were just going to be thrown away, so we wanted to give people a chance to have some things from the building.

Presentation Solutions: What about the historical pieces?

Richard E. Dover: All furniture and architectural pieces of real historic value have been removed and placed in several local museums, but there were still many other items for sale.

Presentation Solutions: What kinds of items?

Richard E. Dover: Mirrors, dressers, bed frames, old upholstered armchairs, and more. Volunteers removed all the remaining furniture and items from the dozens of rooms and held an estate sale.

Presentation Solutions: Were the items expensive?

Richard E. Dover: The items were mostly from the ’60s and ’70s and priced below $50.

Presentation Solutions: Who benefited from the sale?

Richard E. Dover: The funds benefited the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance.

Presentation Solutions: That sounds like a really great opportunity!

Richard E. Dover: There was some really neat stuff just sitting there and in great shape; it just took knocking the dust off it.

Presentation Solutions: Thanks for talking with us.

Richard E. Dover: My pleasure.

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Rick Dover, Knoxville Businessman, Explains Efforts to Rehabilitate Communities

In Lifestyle on June 16, 2013 at 6:18 am

Rick-Dover-Historic-BuildingRick Dover, Knoxville general manager of Family Pride Corporation, has a long-standing commitment to preserving the history of communities in East Tennessee. By seeking out buildings that were once a vital part of their communities, Rick Dover and Knoxville staff have found that they are able to give back to each of these areas in multiple ways.

According to Rick Dover, Knoxville is home to many buildings that have weathered decades of use. By locating these properties and finding a way to restore and reuse them today, Rick Dover, a Knoxville businessman, has found that Family Pride Corporation is able to help stabilize the areas in which the buildings reside. This has been Family Pride Corporation’s hallmark since it was founded in 1993, according to Rick Dover. Knoxville has been a particular target of Family Pride Corporation’s efforts, as Rick Dover of Knoxville explains, since Family Pride Corporation is an East Tennessee company.

Throughout his career, Rick Dover, a Knoxville resident, has worked hard to restore historic buildings. This includes rehabilitating inner-city areas, Rick Dover of Knoxville explains, in addition to neighborhood preservation and historic projects. Rick Dover and Knoxville area staff members at Family Pride Corporation believe the history of an area is often its heritage. Being able to save historic structures allows communities to once again enjoy buildings that are a vital part of the city, Rick Dover of Knoxville has found.

Over the years, Rick Dover of Knoxville has noticed that many longstanding buildings have been left abandoned. According to Rick Dover, Knoxville is one of these areas, but such abandoned buildings can be found anywhere. These properties can lower property values and harm the morale of a neighborhood, according to Rick Dover. Knoxville and surrounding areas have many of these properties, and Family Pride Corporation works hard to turn these structures into renewed buildings that can be enjoyed for many years.

According to Rick Dover, Knoxville properties in need of refurbishing are in Family Pride Corporation’s long-range plans. Family Pride Corporation sees an immediate need for senior communities that provide varying levels of care, according to Rick Dover. Knoxville especially has a large population of aging baby boomers interested in independent living. Through his Family Pride Corporation communities, Rick Dover and his Knoxville staff are able to provide comfortable living that feels like a home away from home.

Each year, Rick Dover, a Knoxville businessman, and his team at Family Pride Corporation are able to add new communities and properties to their business portfolio. Each property has its own charm, Rick Dover of Knoxville has found, because they have been refurbished from a community treasure. But Rick Dover of Knoxville emphasizes that Family Pride Corporation’s goal is not just to save buildings but also to revitalize communities. The company does that through both saving historic treasures and providing comfortable, high-quality care to the treasured family members of the communities in which Rick Dover and Knoxville team members work.

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Rick Dover on How Restoring Buildings Revitalizes Neighborhoods

In Lifestyle, Professionals on May 2, 2013 at 5:04 pm
Rick Dover

Rick Dover

Rick Dover is the general manager of Family Pride Corporation, a family owned and operated company in Knoxville, Tenn. Rick Dover and Family Pride Corporation have been rehabilitating neighborhoods since 1993.

Presentation Solutions: Rick Dover has agreed to speak with us today about his passion for rehabilitating buildings and revitalizing communities. Thank you for joining us, Rick.

Rick Dover: My pleasure. I believe what we are doing is important and I enjoy talking about it.

Presentation Solutions: So why preserve these old buildings?

Rick Dover: First of all, it’s advantageous for the neighborhood. Restoration reduces vacant housing and increases property value. It also encourages community involvement.

Presentation Solutions: How does it encourage community involvement?

Rick Dover: When citizens are proud of their neighborhood, they feel more connected to their neighbors. They become interested in making more improvements to the community, and to do that, they become more active in local government.

Presentation Solutions: Isn’t it a gamble—restoring property that others have abandoned?

Rick Dover: Sometimes all it takes is to bring one property back to life. Neighbors see what can be done and start making improvements to their property, which attracts others to the area and encourages more restorations.

Presentation Solutions: Are you saying it’s good for the economy?

Rick Dover: Restoration of a structure is more labor-intensive than new construction so it brings more jobs to the area. The materials, labor and services are purchased locally, which adds more dollars to the local economy.

Presentation Solutions: That’s interesting. I would never have thought of those added benefits to the economy.

Rick Dover: Improving a neighborhood also increases property value. Plus it’s less expensive to restore a structure than to rebuild.

Presentation Solutions: It sounds like a virtuous cycle that is potentially far-reaching.

Rick Dover: You don’t know how right you are. Historical buildings set a community apart from cookie-cutter neighborhoods. Heritage and cultural tourism is gaining ground in the travel industry as nostalgia nudges people who long for safer and simpler times.

Presentation Solutions: I suppose in mentioning a safer and simpler time, you’re referring to a world before urban sprawl and global warming?

Rick Dover: Exactly. I believe in leaving as small an ecological footprint as possible on our world, and rehabilitating buildings instead of adding new construction is one of my contributions. Preserving a building is the ultimate in recycling in so many ways.

Presentation Solutions: But aren’t you contributing to the environmental problems, too?

Rick Dover: On a much lesser degree than if we were constructing new buildings. Preservation of a building not only saves on materials, but also on the energy used to build a new structure. A lot of energy is required to demolish old buildings, excavate the land, manufacture and assemble building products, and transport them to the building site.

Presentation Solutions: I wouldn’t have thought of what you do as a form of recycling and saving energy.

Rick Dover: Did you know that 20 percent of solid waste in our landfills is construction waste?

Presentation Solutions: No, I didn’t know that.

Rick Dover: Any amount of waste we can eliminate helps the environment.

Presentation Solutions: What should a community do?

Rick Dover: Citizens should safeguard their community’s history and heritage by opposing demolition of historically or architecturally important properties.

Presentation Solutions: How can they do that?

Rick Dover: There are many ways. One enticement for business owners would be to encourage the rehabilitation of any historic buildings in the neighborhood. Owners of historic commercial and rental properties may qualify for a federal 20 percent tax credit for extensive rehabilitation of income-producing historic properties. That should make a businessperson pause and take notice.

Presentation Solutions: How do you determine what projects you choose?

Rick Dover: Historic projects are our major concentration. Unused and underused properties drag neighborhoods down quickly. Family Pride Corporation likes to target these types of situations for redevelopment.

Rick Dover and Family Pride Corporation gain satisfaction from the development and redevelopment of properties for senior housing and commercial and residential use. Rick Dover knows that improving communities through restoration is the best way to rejuvenate a neighborhood. For more information about Rick Dover and Family Pride Corporation, visit familypridecorp.com.