Commerce Magazine

Wagner Brothers offer 'Tennessee's finest properties'

The first thing you notice is the silence. Then the little sound begins to impinge upon your perceptions one by one. The gentle susurrus of an early spring breeze caressing the treetops strikes a soothing counterpoint to the turbulence of the downward-rushing mountain stream. A lone cardinal (or maybe a mockingbird) lets out a couple of tentative trills in the middle distance. Something not too far away causes a muted rustle in the carpet of last year's leaves.

You don't notice the view immediately because it is just a little too spectacular to assimilate all at once. Filtered in shades of bluish purple by the haze that is characteristic of these ancient and storied mountains, the houses, farms and fields spread out upon the valley floor and the toy town itself are too tiny and too silent to be quite real. You can see the traffic on the highway far below, but it proceed in silence, no growling of diesel engines or humming tires on pavement.

There is a presence about these mountains and this valley, cut by the meandering Sequatchie River over eons of time. It is not something forbidding or frightening, but nonetheless a presence as old and as compelling as time itself. And there is a sense of rightness here as well, a nonverbal feeling that suggests everything is exactly as it should be.

The coming of the new road called Corridor J effectively changed the geography of Southeastern Tennessee dramatically. Of course, Walden's Ridge still stands in splendor as it divides the Tennessee and Sequatchie Valleys, but the crossing of that ridge is no longer a torturous and time consuming challenge which forces the traveler up on series of switchbacks and hairpins and then down another. The new road was a decade in the building, and it provides a smooth, high-speed link that changes the trip from Chattanooga to Dunlap to an easy commute instead of a demanding journey. These days, it's only about 40 minutes of easy driving from town to town.

But there's more than just a few miles separating the two areas. Sequatchie County is still a part of small-town America. There's even a functioning drive-in theater in Dunlap, and it's

Perceptions

An uncommon commitment...
The old adage says theat some people work to live and some people live to work.

You don't have to spend alot of time with Jimmy Wanger to learn that he falls in the latter category. This individual lives, breathes sleeps and dreams the development projects in which he is involved.

And "involved" is probably the wrong word here. Wanger had made what he's doing on Cagle and Fredonia Mountains his life's works, and the level of commitment is both a little surprising and refreshing in this day and time.

Of course, he wants to make money with the development efforts, but he want the money so he can plow it back into the project.

When Wagner talks about the hand-laid mountian stone foundation for Sue's Bridge, for example, he's talking in terms of centuries, not years or decades.

And then there's the issue of vision. When Wagner talks about the pond that's going to be constructed just there, or how the house that will go here is to be oriented, you can tell that he's seeing the structure in his mind as he describes it.

From the prospective buyer's point of view, it's always a good thing when the developer lives in the community he or she is developing.

the kind of place where stranger still wave at one another out of courtesy as the pass on the county roads.

All of that sets the stage for development in the area, and that's where Jimmy and Barry Wagner of Wagner Brothers Land Company come in, offering both quantity and quality in several development projects within a few miles of Dunlap.

Just as Wagner Brothers is not your typical real estate agency, the land the firm has under developemnt is not what you might expect.

Both the brothers are medical professionals. Barry Wagner is Chairman of the Department of Emergency at Cumberland Medical Center in Crossville, Tennessee , and functions more or less as a "silent partner" in the real-estate operation. Jimmy Wagner left a successful career in emergency medicine in Florida three years ago to take on day-to-day operations of the real estate concern The agency is indeed, a family affair; sister Diane Wagner serves as operations manager for the firm.

Now, the term "development" often suggests the word "subdivision," but that's a total misnomer when it comes to what Jimmy Wagner is doing.

The different properties-there are four tracts which comprise eight distinct developments on a total of more than 3,500 acres-are anything but what one typically thinks of as subdivisions, although the properties may fit the technical definition of that word.

Individual "lots" within the developments may be as large as 60 acres. And these tracts are not platted by some junior staff member sitting in front of a computer whose only guideline is to get the highest possible dollar for the property.

Jimmy Wagner "draws" the lot lines by walking the property, day in and day out. While he's traversing the land on foot or in his mud-splattered Jeep, he's seeing what it will become and how it should be developed. "This is a deep woods lot with a running creek, about 22 acres," he notes as the Jeep bounces over a freshly-cut trail. "The house will be right over there, with the deck coming out this way, toward the stream." And you can tell that he's seeing the house just there, not just a cleared space in the woods.

"I grew up in Dunlap, and as a child and teenager, spent much of my time wading the creeks and roaming the woods," said Jimmy. "Then I left, and for many years almost lost touch with the beauty of nature. I almost forgot the good feeling one experiences while being outdoors. Fortunately, 25 years later, the lure and the intrigue of the forest has returned. "While Jimmy displays the efficiency of movement and quiet intensity that one might expect of a harried emergency room physician, there is nothing clinical about his approach to the land and its development.

"I believe in stewardship over the land," he observed, explaining that his development plans focus on defining appropriate tracts of land and then building homes that complement the land.

The multiple developments have been under way for only about three years, but the level of progress is, to say the least, surprising. Some already feature paved and curbed roads and underground utilities, while others have only the "first phase" of four-wheel drive trails cut in. Throughout, amenities and plans for some are abundant. There's a unique covered bridge in The Woods, a large and attractive manmade lake in Greenfields, and so forth.

According to Wagner, the typical buyer is someone who is seeking property upon which to build a retirement home and has the desire to focus that residence on nature. Prospective buyers come from all over, although Wagner has said a significant percentage are people like himself who are coming "back home" after a career elsewhere.

The wide variety of properties that Wagner has assembled for development means that prospective buyers can select from anything ranging from a more traditional, upscale subdivision environment (Ridge Crest and River View Estates) to mini-farms where residents "will see their neighbors only if they want to."

Of course, the overall development process is a work in progress. As sales are made, the money is immediately plowed back into the overall development.

And the process is an evolutionary one, which Wagner paints with a broad brush. Pointing to a gravel road, he casually remarks, "We're going to move that road 200 feet over. It just makes a nicer piece of property."

While the operation is an orderly one, it moves forward at an almost frenetic pace. Sod is being laid in one area, roads are being cut in another and land is being cleared in still another. " I like to run flat out," observed Wagner. In fact, he becomes almost resentful of adverse weather conditions which can slow work schedule.

While the different properties each maintain a distinct character of their own, the concept of quality runs throughout, starting from the platting of the individual properties to be sold and continuing through the restrictive covenants and design review phases right up through final construction.

That, according to Wagner, assures purchasers that their property will appreciate in value. "Restrictive covenants in Tennessee are in the deeds in perpetuity," he said. That means buyers need not be concerned that somebody is going to haul in a single-wide mobile home on the adjacent property and then proceed to raise chickens there-that just can't happen. Ever.

Of course, the specific deed restrictions and covenants vary from one development to another.

Just as the arrival of Corridor J has significantly changed access to Sequatchie County, the efforts of the Wagner Brothers are changing the character of the county. Simply put, if you can't find the property that meets your rural iving dreams among Wagner's projects, you're not really looking for that lifestyle after all.

What Jimmy Wagner has brought to these projects is not just entrepreneurial skill in developing them but also a true passion for the land itself, combined with a vision of the highest and best use for the property that not only retains but enhances its natural beauty.

Notwithstanding his medical background, you don't have to spend too much time with Jimmy Wagner to learn that what he is doing here is as much avocation as it is vocation-the fit is exactly the right one-just as is the case with the meticulously planned and executed developments themselves.

The Woods

The development known as The Woods is just exactly what the name implies. With the exception of the new road and the landmark covered bridge, this wooded, mountaintop development probably looks much the same as it did a century-or a dozen centuries ago.

Sale tracts range in size from 6.24 acres upward within a total of 746 acres. The land is gently rolling with many hollows and creeks surrounded by mountain laurel. The area is rich in native flora and fauna.

Access via Highway 111 and Whiteoak Swamps Road, which is a wide, paved road that runs through the northwest corner of the tract.

The Woods features a landmark 72-foot covered bridge across Long Fork Creek. The bridge is named "Sue's Bridge" after Sue Maggert, a friend of Jimmy's who was fond of covered bridges in Vermont. Ms. Maggert died in 1996. The bridge was designed from photos she provided and consists of lumber sawed at a local sawmill. About 260 tons of mountain stone went into the bridge's foundations. The bridge also features a cupola with a large iron bell. It has become a tradition to stop and right that bell when passing over the bridge. That bell is the inspiration for the logo adapted by Wagner Brothers Real Estate.

According to Wagner, "The geography and natural boundaries of the land were used to divide the property into various sized tracts. We surveyed the boundary lines down the centers of the hollows and creeks so that the landowner on each side would have a nice piece of property."

Current land prices in The Woods are in the $4,000 to $6,000 per acre range, but those will increase as more tracts are sold.