John was a breath of fresh air and he has helped create a community that is very special and has had an impact way beyond the gates of Jasper Highlands. "He approaches everything from the perspective that it is going to be first class or I am not going to do it. "John was a very much a different breed," Post said about Thornton. Post said Thornton distinguished himself from other outside investors who tried unsuccessfully in the past to build major developments because of Thornton's persistence and commitment to quality. Most of the residents are retired or near retirement and Lobo estimates the volunteer help offered by Jasper Highlands residents is worth more than $5 million a year. Geoff Post, the chairman of Tower Community Bank in Jasper who watched the growth of Jasper Highlands over the past decade, said those buying into Jasper Highlands are also giving a boost to local merchants, clubs and churches. Harvey Cameron, a long-time Jasper attorney who has worked with Thornton. "John (Thornton) has turned what was just undeveloped wooded property into an amazing community that is drawing national attention," said J. Jasper Highlands has attracted buyers from 48 states and eight countries and is projected to bring nearly $700 million of new investment into Marion County by the time the property buyers build homes on their lots over the next decade.Ī new study on the economic impact of Jasper Highlands by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Economist Bento Lobo estimates the development has added nearly $15 million in annual household earnings in Marion County and created and supported more than 250 jobs at local shops, restaurants and building companies, including the Kimball-based Thunder Enterprises. "I think we're at least two years ahead of our schedule and it's been great to watch the community grow and bond with people coming here from all over the country." "It vastly surpassed my expectations," Thornton said in a recent interview. A decade after the first lots were opened up atop Jasper Mountain, the development has sold most of the nearly 1,300 residential lots and created a new community of relocated residents from all across America who are settling down in the mountain overlooking the Tennessee River. The housing collapse amid the Great Recession in 2008-2009 added to the initial concerns and led Thornton's Thunder Enterprises to delay the start of the project and scrap an initial plan to pursue an 18-hole golf course like what he had been involved in elsewhere in East Tennessee.īut ultimately, that proved beneficial and Thornton has been able to capitalize on both an improving economy and aging population to draw homebuyers from across America to Marion County. 12-When John "Thunder" Thornton bought Jasper Mountain in 2008 to develop one of Tennessee's biggest mountaintop communities, the Chattanooga developer initially encountered some skepticism in Marion County where previous resort-style developments at the Rarity Club on Nickajack Lake and Sequatchie Pointe atop Sand Mountain had both stalled and ultimately led to bankruptcies and even criminal indictments for fraud.
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