Building Main Health Collective Part 2: Finding Our Space and Making It Ours

While we were dreaming about what Main Health Collective would eventually look like, there was one very important thing we needed first: a place to build it.

Our search for a commercial space in Knoxville began before we had even officially moved. In late February, we came across a space online that immediately caught our attention. It needed some updates, but the size was just right for our first office, and the location just off Clinton Highway was great for accessibility and visibility. We could already start to picture what the space could become. Of course, there was one small problem - we weren't moving to Knoxville until the end of May.

We were still living in Chicago and had to wait for our lease there to end before we could make the move. We were working with a commercial real estate agent and hoping that the space we loved wouldn't get rented out before we were able to secure it. There was definitely some patience (and a little bit of hoping for the best) involved as we waited for everything to line up.

Thankfully, it did.

In April, we signed the letter of intent, with a planned date to get the keys at the end of May. The timing couldn't have worked out better. We were able to finish our time in Chicago, pack up our lives, and make the move to Knoxville knowing that we had a space waiting for us on the other side. After finding an apartment in Knoxville, we officially packed up and made the move across the country. It was a big transition - leaving the place where we had spent years building our lives and making memories to begin an entirely new chapter - but it was also incredibly exciting. We took about a week to settle into our new apartment, get our bearings, and start adjusting to life in Knoxville. Then it was time to get to work.

We finally got the keys to our commercial space, and for the first time, we were standing inside what would eventually become Main Health Collective. There were absolutely some tears shed. At this point, it was still very much an empty commercial space, but we could finally start turning all of the ideas we'd been talking about for months into something tangible. The space had previously been a credit union, so it wasn't exactly designed with healthcare in mind. There weren't private rooms set up for patient visits, which meant one of our first priorities was figuring out how to create a layout that would allow both of us to have our own spaces while also providing privacy and comfort for our patients.

We started planning out where walls needed to go and how we could make the existing space work for both chiropractic care and functional health consulting. We wanted the office to feel intentional and functional without losing the warmth and welcoming environment we envisioned from the beginning.

The flooring was another area we knew we wanted to change. The space had older carpet throughout, and we wanted something more practical for a healthcare setting. Something that would be easier to clean and maintain while still feeling warm and inviting. We decided on a hard flooring option, LVP, that would give the space a fresh look while also making sense for the day-to-day realities of a healthcare practice. Then there was the color. From the beginning, we knew we wanted to incorporate the deep forest green that became part of the Main Health Collective brand. We wanted the space to feel earthy, grounded, and connected to the vision behind our practice. Rather than creating a space that felt sterile or overly clinical, we wanted it to feel like somewhere you could actually feel comfortable spending time.

Once we had a plan for the layout and updates, we started getting everything in place with our contractors. And then, finally, the renovation process began.

Once the renovation officially began, we quickly learned that construction rarely goes exactly according to plan. Like any renovation project, there were a few unexpected delays and changes along the way. What we originally hoped would be a relatively quick process ended up taking about a month and a half. While the delays weren't always easy to navigate, we tried to remind ourselves that every step was bringing us closer to the finished space we had envisioned.

For those six weeks or so, it felt like there was always something happening. Walls were being framed, flooring was being replaced, paint was going up, and little by little, the space was transforming before our eyes. It was exciting to stop by and see the progress, even when some days it felt like we were waiting on the next thing to happen.

Seeing that transformation has been one of the most exciting parts of this entire process. What had been an idea we talked about during school was now becoming a real, physical space right in front of us. The old credit union was slowly becoming Main Health Collective, and we could finally start to see the vision we had been carrying with us for so long coming to life.

With gratitude, 
Dr. Marissa and Dr. Zach
Main Health Collective