Chris Chain
Chris Chain is a 1984 graduate of Florida State University with a B.S. degree in Marketing. Upon graduation, Chris worked as a marketing representative for two years before moving back to his hometown – Columbus, MS. Back in Columbus, Chris became interested in the preservation of historic downtown properties. He began purchasing historic commercial buildings in downtown Columbus and developing the unused upper stories into residential apartments.
In 1996, Chris started his own company – Renovations of Mississippi, Inc. He is a licensed general contractor specializing in historic restoration and new construction. Chris also has extensive experience in obtaining The Historic Restoration Tax Credit for his projects, as well as working with city officials concerning code issues, tax deferments, and also working with area banks to create low interest loan pools. Chris has developed over 100 buildings in the state of Mississippi, and he has worked or consulted on many numerous projects all over Mississippi and Alabama.
In 1997, Chris received a commendation by The Mississippi Department of Archives and History for his restoration projects in Columbus. In January 2004, Chris received the President’s Award from Main Street Columbus for the Restoration of The Market Street Grocery and Grille. Chris most recently received the Paul Coggin award, which is the highest award given by Mississippi Main Street for excellence in historic preservation.Chris has also been a past president of Main StreetColumbus as well as a board member for 15 years. Chris created and chaired the first two years of the Columbus Market Street Festival.
Chris lives in Columbus with his wife, Cathy, and their three children, Molly, Ladd and Thomas.