Rick Dover takes pride in family's success preserving history

Michelle Gibson
Special Publications Staff Writer, Knoxville News Sentinel
August 26, 2007

While many developers/builders literally bulldoze their imprint on the present and future, Rick Dover and his Family Pride Corp. take the opposite approach.

Dover and his family-owned company rehabilitate and repurpose old Loudon County buildings. Eleven of their projects are in various stages of use.

Family Pride Corp. buys the buildings after research and consultation, then works with the state and national historical commissions to ensure all work meets current standards and guidelines.

Those efforts were recently acknowledged with awards from the Tennessee Historical Commission and the East Tennessee Historical Society.

Specifically singled out were renovations to the Orme-Wilson Storehouse and the Carmichael Inn, a former stagecoach stop and hotel near the Loudon County Courthouse that now houses a coffee shop and restaurant.

The awards were "very nice things to get," said Dover, who says the specialty line of work is both "exhausting and fascinating."

He jokingly admits his company's passions "are kind of a sickness.'"

"There are a lot of neat buildings that have been abandoned or condemned, and it is really neat to find them and come up with a purpose and a plan.'

The company was founded in 1993 when Dover, who grew up in Knoxville, returned to his hometown after working construction in California and Texas. He did some work replacing substandard Mechanicsville and Magnolia Avenue housing, then started working in Loudon County.

In the years since, Family Pride Corp. has refurbished the Lenoir Cotton Warehouse and the Grove Building, has repurposed two Loudon County hospitals and the old Lenoir City High School into senior living facilities, and is currently working on the Lakeside Village waterfront town home community -at the site of a former factory and warehouse.

Unlike many builder/contractors, Family Pride Corp. retains ownership of the renovated buildings, carrying through on the projects and opening employment opportunities.

"We have 100 full-time employees running the assisted-living facilities," Dover says, in addition to the company's full-time workmen and various subcontractors.

It's "die centerpiece of what we do " he added. "We have our hearts in both places - the construction end and the usefulness aspect.

"The preservation of history is so important, and makes such a difference in the world," he said. "To [make] homes and buildings come back to life is something I love to do."

He also has some behind-the-scenes support, since his kids think his job is "cool"

"Lots of dads don't hear that."

The physical work is more difficult than building a new home, especially if you are faithful to the original construction, he notes.

"It would be a lot easier to bulldoze woods and farms, but I am just so glad to have a job that contributes toward community redevelopment. And I'm really glad to have a job I like:'

Dover is quick to point out that the job and the company "are not about me. '

Family Pride Corp. is a three-generation family affair, where Dover's mother, wife and three children all make various contributions. He also works closely with Knoxvillians Tommy Stokes and Willard Ratliff on plans and designs.

Dover said he plans to work in Loudon County indefinitely. He says he has at least two to three years' worth of work ahead of him. He also hopes to help with the planned Wharf Street renovations that will create a pedestrian dining and shopping area along the Tennessee River.