The Hamilton apartment complex at 600 North Market was photographed on June 21st.

The Hamilton apartment complex at 600 North Market was photographed on September 4.

A new, multicolored apartment complex on North Market Street in Chattanooga that drew ire from neighbors now sports a slightly tweaked final color scheme that still includes eight bright hues.

The $4 million complex at 600 N. Market, first painted in June, immediately raised eyebrows with its bright purple, pink, blue, orange, green and yellow colors. Some people loved the unusual design; others hated it.

A group of neighbors asked the developer, John Wise, to tone down the facade and repaint it in earth tones. After a months-long process that included input from neighbors, architects and designers, Wise settled on a slightly more subdued color scheme.

The light lavender and light blue sections have been darkened to deeper shades of blue and purple. The rest of the colors will stay the same.

The new scheme is more balanced, said Maura Lambert, marketing and projects manager at Wise Properties, and feels youthful.

"The North Shore has a youthful life to it," she said. The colors are a modern take on Victorian-era Southern homes, and they were chosen from historic color charts from that era, she said.

But some neighbors still aren't happy with the final design.

"It's a classic example of putting lipstick on a pig," said Garnet Chapin, president of the Northside/Riverfront Association. "It's third-rate architecture and so different from the neighborhood."

But he added, it's Wise Properties' right to paint the apartments with whatever colors it wants, since colors are not included in the North Shore's design guidelines.

"The failure is in the review process," he said. "I think the whole C7 zone needs to be modified and reviewed."

In some cases zoning rules are too strict, he said. And in others, the guidelines don't give planners enough authority.

Jason Havron, co-president of the Hill City Neighborhood Association, said he's gotten both positive and negative feedback on the 45-unit apartment complex.

The one- and two-bedroom apartments will rent for between $735 and $1,240.

Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com.