Chattanooga developer John “Thunder” Thornton is first and foremost a consummate salesman. Maybe the best in the state. And he just swung the real estate deal of the year in Tennessee.

Thornton, a University of Tennessee trustee, powerful political contributor and nationally recognized conservationist, essentially sealed his deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in late September. In it, barring an unforeseen hiccup, he’ll swap 1,100 acres of archeologically significant and habitat-rich property he’s recently cobbled together in Marion County west of Chattanooga for 578 acres of prime development acreage on nearby Nickajack Lake.

TVA acquired the waterfront property from individual landowners in the course of damming the Tennessee River four decades ago. Today facing ever greater pressure to sell off its nearly quarter million acres of shoreline, the two-person board of the federally created power producer leapt at Thornton’s “no net loss” proposal, going as far as to describe it as a model for future sell-offs.

Under Thornton’s guidance, TVA’s land at Nickajack Lake is finally on the verge of serving as the economic driver it was envisioned to be long ago. Slated to become a $350 million to $450 million gated residential community 12 minutes from downtown Chattanooga, “Nickajack Shores” will include roughly 600 homes, a hotel/meeting facility and boat slips. A sure-fire boon to struggling Marion County, the development also promises to serve as a magnet for retirees nationwide looking to plant their feet, and their life’s savings, in East Tennessee.

As such, Thornton has firmly established himself as one of the key drivers of Tennessee’s retirement industry, a “green” industry that attracts big dollars to the state in lieu of smokestacks and toxic waste—and at a greater rate of efficiency. One recent study found the economic value of one new retiree moving into a state to be equal in value to the addition of 3.7 factory jobs.

A growing industry that in recent years has shown the ability to expand even during a recession, the retirement business shows no signs of slowing down. Over the next 30 years, America’s over 65 population is expected to double. Baby boomers, many still under age 60, are increasingly retiring early. Their migration to Tennessee—increasingly shunning traditional hotspots along the coastal United States—has a significant multiplier effect. Usually of above average means, retirees seldom have school age children nor do they stress other government resources like law enforcement. And they’re not likely to end up in government-assisted health care plans or facilities.

That’s not to say Thornton’s motives are geared exclusively to the benefit of the state. The seven-year build-out of his proposed development, primed to begin early in 2006, will in all likelihood result in a substantial personal financial windfall, even after subtracting out the roughly $3 million Thornton spent paying TVA’s administrative fees and buying the land he’s offering up in mitigation. Not surprisingly, Thornton’s assumed prosperity on the deal—reward for the risk he’s assumed—has been poorly received by some in the area who recoil at the thought of a developer accruing wealth from the development of land people were pushed off a generation ago. Also in opposition are Native American groups that view the land as sacred ground.

On the flipside, salesman Thornton has made a compelling case and one that jives with TVA’s stated goal of stimulating economic development and preservation. In addition to supplying the public with twice as much land on which to hunt and fish (a set-off never before contemplated by previous land suitors), Thornton’s swap offering, considered more archeologically significant, will be better protected under federal ownership.

Archeologist Lawrence Alexander has described Thornton’s current 220-acre Burn’s Island, a key piece of the swap, as the richest find of artifacts dating back to 1,200 B.C. that he’s ever uncovered in so concentrated a region in his 35 years in practice. “He called me up jumping up and down like [U.T. assistant football coach] Trooper Taylor after a U.T. touchdown,” Thornton says. “Burn’s Island is an oasis of cultural findings.” Under Thornton’s current ownership, if someone gets caught artifact hunting on the island, they face misdemeanor charges. Under federal control, pilferers would go to prison.

The project won’t solve all of Marion County’s problems, but it will be a start. Marion and its county seat of Jasper don’t boast much industry. Like many rural counties, it desperately needs a greater tax base. Studies show Thornton’s project will net $4.4 million annually for local governments from activity spurred both by in-migrating retirees and affluent Chattanoogans moving out to the lake.

For the state as a whole, Thornton’s development continues the momentum Tennessee is currently building as a premiere destination in the high growth retirement business. Through visionaries like Thornton, the private marketplace has already done the work needed to make it a low-risk industry for Tennessee investment. The time is ripe for a coordinated statewide push to promote Tennessee as the premiere spot not just to spend a vacation but also to spend one’s golden years.

Photo by John Schweikert