THE BELL STORY : HOW IT ALL STARTED
Bell Development started out as an engineering
firm, thirty years ago by Julian Bell. Julian, born in Virginia Beach, an engineer graduate of Virginia Tech made
his way to Chattanooga, TN back in the late 1960’s to take a job at
Dupont. From there he worked with a Mechanical
Contractor and then became Director of Public Works for the City of Chattanooga and also the
Assistant City Engineer before starting Bell Engineering.
As strictly an engineering firm, Julian Bell and
his staff provided industrial clients with structural and civil
engineering services. Bell
designed projects like subdivisions, roads and sewer systems.
It was his neighborhood design work that opened the door to
building homes. Julian discovered when he had
finished designing a new subdivision that there was a need to
supervise the rest of the project. Homeowners weren’t able to manage
their own contracts. So a group got together and
asked Julian if he would take propriety interest in their subdivision
to supervise the work. Early on Julian realized that every time there
was an economic downturn, he had as much or more tied up in the deal
as the people he was working for. So he began to
develop his own subdivisions. And, as financing
became more and more difficult in the late 80’s and 90’s, Julian dug
his feet in deeper into the building business to protect his
investments.
Bell Engineering was slowly becoming Bell
Development and one of the largest of its kind in East Tennessee. Simultaneously,
Bell
and his three sons built seven subdivisions, and two townhome
developments. With a well-planned design,
Bell
developed these subdivisions in several different market classes and
economic ranges. “In truth, we’re building communities,” Julian
explained. “We look at a piece of land, decide what type of
individuals or families would be interested in the kind of community
that could be built on the land and determine the probable economic
class of potential buyers. If we do our homework correctly, we will
build a community that meets the needs of a compatible range of
homeowners.”
Along with a well-planned and researched subdivision design,
Julian learned early on, that he absolutely needed to learn every
facet of the residential building industry. After a
$400,000 loss on an early project, he became quite the student.
In fact, he attributes much of his success to the Home Builders
Association of Chattanooga. Julian went to contractors seminars,
pursued events with the Urban Land Institute and local Planning
Association and checked every other source that offered guidance. “We
studied what types of products should go into a subdivision, the
importance of advanced planning for a community and how to recognize
building opportunities,” Julian explained. “We learned that we have to
do more than watch our material costs and build a quality product, we
have to look hard at the sales end of business and listen to the
marketplace and see what consumers want.”
All of Julian’s homework began to pay off. The
home building side of Bell
really took off when youngest son Jay took the helm in 1998. Jay
helped take the family business from selling 45 lots in a year to over
300 a year for the past ten years. Like father like son, Jay learned
first hand, the ins and outs of the residential building business.
Now 30 years and 8 growing subdivisions later,
including over 4,000 lots, Bell Development continues to do what it
does best, build quality affordable homes with
absolute customer service and satisfaction. Bell continues to chart a
course and plan for the future, building homes that sell themselves
and grow in value for their owners. That value and success is
attributed to Bell’s philosophy from the
very beginning, that all homes must share the same quality that is
built into the largest homes. “Small homes –
1200-1800 sq. ft. take careful planning to include, not only the
essentials, but extras, that place a home a cut above the competition,
yet keep it affordable for the starter homebuyer.” Julian adds.
Julian’s hard work, determination and leadership
in Bell Development have helped so many families start their lives in
a brand new quality Bell
home. And in return, Julian is committed to serving the industry that
has offered him so much.
Julian Bell has served as
Homebuilders Association of Chattanooga President for two terms.
He has also served on the Governor’s Affairs Committee and was
awarded a Presidential citation. Julian Bell was chosen as developer
of the year in 1987 and 1992.
Come home to Bell!
