Eclectic lofts open soon: The Storm Building is getting some new apartments

Published 8:08 pm Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The Storm Building, located on the corner of Whitworth Avenue and Cherokee Street in downtown Brookhaven, is home to Janie’s Pastry, First Bank and Smith Jewelers. It will soon add four new apartments upstairs and an occupational therapist office downstairs.

Johnny Lynch, owner of the lofts, plans to gear the apartments toward people looking for an extended stay.

“I get a lot of phone calls from people looking to come to Brookhaven. They want to buy a house here but are not quite sure where they want to buy. This will help them land somewhere for a short period of time,” Lynch said.

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Lynch — who also owns The Inez, which offers long-term monthly rentals and The Inn on Whitworth, which offers short-term rentals — is hoping the new apartments can fit somewhere between those.

“I’m hoping this can be a place where someone can rent one week, one month or three months,” Lynch said.

The new apartments will be fully furnished and all utilities will be included in the rent. Renters will be able to access the apartments by an elevator that will be located between the jewelry store and the new occupational therapist office that is currently under construction on West Cherokee Street.

Dr. Kim Sessums, who did the artwork and helped design The Inn on Whitworth, also designed the current artwork and layout of the new apartments in the Storm Building.

“It’s going to be first class. This is going to be a real eclectic look and be really different from anything people from Brookhaven have seen,” Lynch said.

Lynch, who has been involved in the redevelopment of downtown Brookhaven for years, is excited about the possibilities of what these lofts could do to continue the downtown revitalization.

“If I can create a nice space, hopefully another business will come in,” he said. “One part of the whole big picture is creating a building and the real estate, the other part is for the business to operate in and out of. One business success leads to another person taking a chance. My job is to cast a vision and start the process where we create the storefront and help businesses in the community advance.”

The new lofts will open on June 1. For more information, visit www.stormlofts.com or call 601-990-5487.