Urban Story Ventures

What Urban Story Ventures does

Urban Story Ventures is a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based commercial real estate development company that focuses on large-scale mixed-use, entertainment, and creative-economy projects. Its flagship project, The Bend, is a 100-acre mixed-use riverfront district along the Tennessee River comprising approximately 1,700 residential units, 1.1 million square feet of office space, 1.2 million square feet of retail and dining, 600 hotel rooms, entertainment venues, and a 300-slip marina, with potential investment projected at nearly $1 billion over 30 years. The company pursues a development-led business model in which it secures entitlements and infrastructure, sources institutional construction financing, and sells individual parcels to vertical developers while retaining ownership of core infrastructure and entertainment assets.

The company is expanding into entertainment and technology-enabled creative infrastructure. Through a co-development partnership with Venu Holding Corporation (announced 2026-05-15), Urban Story Ventures is building the $300 million, 12,500-seat Sunset Amphitheater Chattanooga. Separately, its Jailhouse Studios initiative, developed with Oracle partners STEM and Centroid, proposes converting Hamilton County's former downtown jail into a quantum-ready sovereign data, processing, and AI center paired with a creator campus featuring film and recording studios, LED volumes, artist lofts, and classroom space. The company is led by founder Jimmy White and has secured a $47.5 million recapitalization/construction loan from Hilco Global Real Estate Capital to fund The Bend.

Urban Story Ventures monetizes primarily through one-time parcel sales to vertical developers within The Bend, supplemented by development and construction management fees, and future managed-services economics from entertainment venue operations and technology-enabled creative campus facilities. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting institutional buyers, established entertainment operators, and municipal partners, supported by a public-private partnership with The City of Chattanooga.

Name

Urban Story Ventures

Website

https://urbanstoryventures.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urban Story Ventures is a Chattanooga-based real estate development company building large-scale mixed-use, entertainment, and creative-economy projects, including the 100-acre The Bend riverfront district and the proposed Jailhouse Studios quantum-ready AI and creator campus, serving vertical developers, entertainment operators, and the City of Chattanooga.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Development

NAICS

New Housing For-Sale Builders (236117), Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (53)

SIC

Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552), Operative Builders (1531)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail & Mixed-Use Commercial Construction (IMAFACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Land Development & Subdivision Homebuilding (Build-to-Sell Communities) (IMAFABAL), Office & Corporate Building Construction (IMAFACAA), Backlot & Exterior Lot Rental (MPADAIAB)

Keywords

• Mixed-use real estate development
• Commercial property development
• Public-private partnerships
• Waterfront property development
• Entertainment venue development

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Mixed-use development and property sales: Urban Story Ventures develops large-scale mixed-use projects along the Tennessee River, selling individual parcels to vertical developers while retaining ownership of core infrastructure and entertainment components.
2. Construction and development fees: The company generates revenue through development activities including construction management and development fees associated with The Bend project and other mixed-use developments.
3. Entertainment venue development: Development of entertainment venues including amphitheaters and recording studios, generating revenue through venue operations, lease arrangements, and partnership structures.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Urban Story Ventures is a commercial real estate development company that entitles, finances, and infrastructure-readies large-scale mixed-use projects along the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It sells developed parcels to vertical builders, retains and operates core entertainment and infrastructure assets, and co-develops specialized venues such as the Sunset Amphitheater (with Venu Holding Corporation) and Jailhouse Studios (a quantum-ready creator campus and data center).

Product overview

Urban Story Ventures is a real estate development company focused on large-scale mixed-use and entertainment projects in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The company operates The Bend as its flagship 100-acre mixed-use riverfront development and Jailhouse Studios as a technology-enabled creative campus initiative, supported through public-private partnerships and construction financing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Bend A 100-acre mixed-use riverfront development along the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, featuring approximately 1,700 residential units, 1.1 million square feet of office space, 1.2 million square feet of retail and dining, 600 hotel rooms, entertainment venues, and a 300-slip marina. The development is sold to vertical developers as pre-permitted, infrastructure-ready parcels.
• Jailhouse Studios A joint initiative to convert Hamilton County's former downtown jail into a quantum-ready sovereign data, processing, and AI center combined with a creator campus featuring film and recording studios, LED volumes, artist lofts, and classroom space. The project leverages EPB fiber and Oracle cloud capabilities and is designed to create hundreds of jobs and educational pathways for the creative economy.
• Sunset Amphitheater Chattanooga A planned $300 million, 12,500-seat live entertainment amphitheater co-developed with Venu Holding Corporation in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Urban Story Ventures provides real estate and development capabilities while Venu Holding Corporation contributes venue operations expertise, creating one of the largest live entertainment venues in Tennessee.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly $1 billion in new investment projected over 30 years from fully entitled master-planned district

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Venu Holding CorporationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2026Strategic partnership for the development of a $300 million, 12,500-seat amphitheater called Sunset Amphitheater Chattanooga. Venu Holding Corporation brings venue operations expertise while Urban Story Ventures provides real estate and development capabilities. The project represents one of the largest live entertainment venue developments in Tennessee.
• The City of ChattanoogacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 January 2026Public-private partnership between Urban Story Ventures and The City of Chattanooga supporting The Bend mixed-use development. The city partnership provides regulatory support, infrastructure coordination, and community alignment for the $1 billion potential investment project.
• Oracle (STEM and Centroid)flagshipTechnology or Integration · 16 January 2026Oracle partners STEM and Centroid are collaborating with Urban Story Ventures on Jailhouse Studios, the world's first quantum-ready sovereign data, processing, and AI center and creator campus. The project leverages Oracle's cloud capabilities and EPB's fiber infrastructure for next-generation film, music, and digital media production.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• The Howard Hughes Corporation: Master-planned community developer behind The Woodlands, Summerlin, and Ward Village — large-scale, mixed-use, infrastructure-led districts. Comparable because it executes multi-decade, mixed-use master plans with retained land/amenity ownership, the same model Urban Story is pursuing with The Bend.
• The Related Companies: Large-scale mixed-use and affordable housing developer (Hudson Yards, Related Midwest). Comparable as a broad incumbent with deep PPP experience and the ability to execute multi-billion-dollar mixed-use programs at scale.
• Brookfield Property Group: Diversified real estate developer and operator with a large mixed-use portfolio. Comparable as a broad incumbent that develops and operates master-planned districts and entertainment-anchored retail centers similar in scope to The Bend.

Direct peers

• North American Properties: Mixed-use developer focused on retail-anchored and lifestyle districts (Avalon, Colony Square). Comparable because its playbook of dense, amenitized mixed-use development with entertainment overlays mirrors Urban Story's strategy at The Bend.
• Steiner + Associates: Mixed-use town center developer (Easton Town Center, Liberty Center). Comparable because it develops large-format retail-anchored mixed-use districts with entertainment components, similar in spirit to The Bend.
• Venu Holding Corporation: Public entertainment venue operator and co-development partner on the $300M Sunset Amphitheater Chattanooga. Comparable because it shares Urban Story's focus on live-entertainment real estate and operates the venue assets that anchor mixed-use districts.
• Toll Brothers: National for-sale homebuilder active in luxury and master-planned communities. Comparable as a likely vertical-builder acquirer of The Bend's residential parcels and as a public-market read on for-sale housing demand in the Southeast.

Regional players

• Crescent Communities: Southeast U.S. mixed-use and multifamily developer. Comparable because it operates in the same regional geography and develops mixed-use districts with residential, office, and retail components, though without Urban Story's waterfront/quantum-ready angle.

Others

• Oracle (Real Estate / Cloud Infrastructure): Technology partner via STEM and Centroid for the Jailhouse Studios initiative. Comparable as an enabling/ecosystem participant providing the cloud and quantum-ready capabilities that underpin the project's differentiated positioning.

Emerging players

• Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT / Carter Funds: Data center and mission-critical infrastructure investor. Comparable as a thematic peer for the Jailhouse Studios quantum-ready data/AI center concept, given overlap in mission-critical facility development and tenant underwriting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urban Story Ventures