Chattanooga Area News

[MLBrumby]

Can confirm that East Brainerd is booming. Must be close to 1000 houses under construction along the 4-mile stretch of Ooltewah-Ringgold Rd from stateline to Collegedale. No fewer than 8 new neighborhoods. Ooltewah has as many underway west of I-75. Apison to the east has even more underway. TDOT better get busy on their widening plans for O-R Road. Of course, they won't until the situation gets unbearable. Then Bell & Greentech developers just announced 400 new homes in Hixson. Each week, it seems there are new neighborhoods of 150-200 homes announced. East Ridge is even coming alive with the new Red Wolves stadium and complex and Top Gold. I realize that's all suburbia, but rest assured that downtown is popping. It seems that every available developable parcel of land is getting some high density project. I'll try and get some pics sometime soon like I did last year. 

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2019/dec/10/hixssee-bevy-new-homes/510262/

More about Chattanooga's booming economy... https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2019/dec/10/study-predicts-chattanoogwill-be-countrys-hir/510288/

[MLBrumby]

And more on the Medical Corridor/Wellness District currently in development  https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2019/dec/07/looking-cincinnati-model-chattanoogofficials/510054/

Rendering courtesy of UDA & Chattanooga Times Free Press

Information compiled Times Free Press

HEALTH AND WELLNESS DISTRICT BY THE NUMBERS TODAY:

16%: health, wellness and education jobs as a share of all jobs in Chattanooga

34,500: jobs along the corridor

$1.4 billion+: in annual payroll

4,100+: academic degrees awarded annually

Source: Chattanooga Health, Wellness & Education Roadmap

Information compiled by Times Free Press

Recent investments along the corridor:

Stakeholders have recently invested more than $750 million in new projects, with at least $400 million in projects planned for the next decade.

CHI Memorial Expansion: $318 millon investment (2015)

BCBS Cameron Hill Campus: $218 million investment (2006)

Parkridge Expansion: $62 million investment (2017)

Erlanger Children’s Outpatient Center: $35 million investment (2018)

UTC West Campus Housing: $70 million investment (2018)

Unum Mixed-Use Development: $50 million investment (2019)

Source: Chattanooga Health, Wellness & Education Roadmap

The Study Document Created and Presented by HR&A and Urban Design Associates for River City Company https://media.timesfreepress.com//news/documents/2019/12/07/chattanoogahealthandwellnessdistrictstudyapril20194916945085.pdf

 

[Titans10]

A few aerials from Rock Creek Aviation. 

[Titans10]

 

[MLBrumby]

Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) will start construction on a 1300-space parking garage in early 2020; to be completed in early 2021.  https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2019/dec/17/work-chattanooga-airport-parking-deck-2020/510782/

At the same time, airport officials are laying the groundwork for the biggest expansion of the passenger terminal in more than 25 years as Lovell Field posts its string of six record years of traffic. Officials have said that design of the possible expanded terminal may start next year. Construction on that expansion may begin in 2021, they've said. The work might add four or five more gates for aircraft, as well as boost concourse space for passenger restrooms, restaurants and another potential security checkpoint line.

[MLBrumby]

Dave and Busters to open in March at Hamilton Place (old Sears store)

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2020/jan/09/dave-busters-hamilton-place-opening-march-hiring-240-people/512608/

Development of the Southside continues. A seedy budget motel at 20th and Broad was demolished to make way for 56 townhouses. 

Donna Shepherd of AD Engineering said Thursday that the three-level complex will take up the entire block at 101 E. 20th St. and will hold one- and two-bedroom units.

 

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2020/jan/09/56-unit-townhouse-complex-planned-chattanoogas-southside/512609/

Edited January 10, 2020 by MLBrumby

[MLBrumby]

Proud Volkswagen Group of America calls Chattanooga 'home'!

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2020/jan/09/volkswagen-chattanooga-hiring-380-more-employees-puts-plant-over-4000-workers/512557/

Last year, VW started work on an $800 million expansion at the plant to make an all-electric SUV by 2022 with plans to hire 1,000 more workers.

John Ross Building in downtown Chattanooga to see multimillion-dollar makeover

A multimillion-dollar makeover is slated for a historic downtown Chattanooga building with its walls transformed into glass to help turn it into a logistics industry centerpiece, officials said Thursday.

The long-empty John Ross Building at Fourth Street between Market and Broad is eyed by FreightWaves, a Chattanooga transportation and logistics data and content company, as a video production studio and office space.

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2020/jan/09/multimillion-dollar-makeover-planned-downtown-chattanooga-building/512604/

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by MLBrumby

[MLBrumby]

Work begins on another boutique hotel in Chattanooga's growing Southside entertainment district

Vision Hospitality Corp., which has already built or renovated the Edwin, Doubletree, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites and Holiday Inn Express & Suites in downtown Chattanooga over the past two decades, is building its newest brand hotel, the Kinley, at 1409 Market Street. The 64-room hotel will offer a so-called speakeasy for food and drink and even include bunk beds in some rooms.

This will fill another surface parking lot.

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2020/jan/06/constructistarts-kinley-hotel/512319/

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by MLBrumby

[Titans10]

also Trader Joe’s is apparently shopping locations. 

[Titans10]

 

[MLBrumby]

The link doesn't work. 

[Titans10]

 

[bnacincy]

Had no idea that Chattanooga was booming like this!

My family is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery (Parents, Grandparents and even a Great Grandmother.)

My dad grew up there, went to McCallie and after the Korean War the University of Chattanooga.

When I was a kid we would drive from Nashville to see the Grandparents; Chattanooga was dirty back then. I think it was Walter Cronkite who said it was the dirtiest city in America.

In the early 70's that began to change though. I think it all began with Miller Park-I can't recall exactly-but what I do know is that from that point on Chattanooga has absofreakin'lutely NOT SKIPPED A BEAT!!

Can't wait to see what 2020 has in store.....

 

[MLBrumby]

Appreciate the comments.... Chatty is doing very well and has a great location. Still has some leadership issues and some old-style thinking (sort of the mid-20th century 'big city' union boss attitude)... after all, its roots are very blue collar. But it helps to have UTC here with 12k students and other smaller colleges in the metro. What's great is a lot of recent college graduates (even among those who never attended college here) choose to start businesses here. It's a hub for this corner of the state, and the official federal census for the metro is really understated as it doesn't include over 200K people in adjacent counties (Whitfield GA and Bradley TN). But for shopping, entertainment and tourism, Chatty punches well above its weight class, and our natural beauty is unmatched by any place east of the Mississippi. It's a good time to live in Chattanooga. 

[BnaBreaker]

Hopefully this is the right place to put this little tidbit, but according to official census estimates for 2019, the Chattanooga CSA is OFFICIALLY over the one million mark, coming in at 1,004,573!

[MLBrumby]

Thanks. I guess I never knew what counties are in the CSA. The MSA doesn't include Bradley, TN (108K) and Whitefield, GA (105K) ... both of which are adjacent to Hamilton... and Jackson, AL (52K) which is just 20 miles away. Without them included in the MSA, the population is closing in on 620K.  And we get lots of commuters from those three counties each day. Most people don't realize how packed this little valley gets on any given day and we still don't have a bypass! 

Edited April 2, 2020 by MLBrumby

[jmtunafish]

On 4/2/2020 at 8:50 AM, MLBrumby said:

Thanks. I guess I never knew what counties are in the CSA. The MSA doesn't include Bradley, TN (108K) and Whitefield, GA (105K) ... both of which are adjacent to Hamilton... and Jackson, AL (52K) which is just 20 miles away. Without them included in the MSA, the population is closing in on 620K.  And we get lots of commuters from those three counties each day. Most people don't realize how packed this little valley gets on any given day and we still don't have a bypass! 

Has there been any talk of a bypass?  It seems an interstate bypass from, say, just north of Dalton to Cleveland would be a no-brainer and would solve a lot of the traffic issues at the 75/24 split in Chattanooga.

[MLBrumby]

I'd use it!!!  Unfortunately, we need one from the west side to the south worse than that side.  But that would require tunneling through Lookout Mtn. and the battlefield (and various historic sites).  I've heard some (not much) talk about double-deckering I-24 (a'la I-35 in Austin). Even that would be an engineering challenge b/c it would need to climb Missionary Ridge. Plus, it's highly unpopular to have freeway noise enhanced by a raised platform.  The only hope may be additional lanes with access lanes running alongside a portion of I-24 with enhanced exits at current choke points, like Broad Street.  There is room for a redesign through there (lots of cloverleaf interchanges can be reconfigured) and that area is mostly industrial blight. The section atop Missionary is already being widened to the new I-75 interchange. 

I think a bypass starting from US 27 north of downtown with a bridge eastward (just south of Soddy Daisy) and a spur to I-75 would help a lot.  Then another link through McDonald to TN60/GA71 would be helpful. We're just in a deep valley. Not a lot of options. 

Edited April 4, 2020 by MLBrumby

[BnaBreaker]

I have family in both Dalton and Ooltewah so I use Ooltewah-Ringold Road a ton to travel back and forth between them when I'm there. So I don't know if a full blown bypass is necessary or not (I'll leave that to the locals to decide, but I would most definitely use it too!

[Titans10]

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2020/may/06/120-million-neighborhood-planned-chattanooga/522355/

 

$120 million neighborhood planned in Chattanooga's East Main Street area

 

The biggest housing and commercial project to go up in Chattanooga's East Main Street area in decades is planned for about 30 acres around the former Standard-Coosa-Thatcher textile site.

Called Mill Town, the $120 million development would hold about 330 units along with apartments and commercial space, said Ethan Collier, president of Collier Construction.

The site includes much of the area bordered by East Main, South Lyerly and East 19th streets and Dodds Avenue, which for years has lagged amid the central city's redevelopment.

 

[Titans10]

 

[MidTenn1]

As a frequent visitor to Chattanooga (grandbabies, art workshops) I have often thought some extra lanes would help on the west side of Chattanooga.

There are a lot of wrecks on the existing I-24 that shut down the highway frequently. More capacity might help non-recurring delay issues and even improve traffic flow.

[Titans10]

On 6/5/2020 at 7:40 PM, PHofKS said:

As a frequent visitor to Chattanooga (grandbabies, art workshops) I have often thought some extra lanes would help on the west side of Chattanooga.

There are a lot of wrecks on the existing I-24 that shut down the highway frequently. More capacity might help non-recurring delay issues and even improve traffic flow.

No way they build a freeway over a National Park, that said traffic does suck in that area. 

[MLBrumby]

Chattanooga desperately needs a bypass, but I've seen none that would be routed north of I-24 (plus that terrain is very steep and expensive to cross the river 2X. The stretch of I-24 from Moccasin Bend to west of the junction with I-59 is slated for widening to 8 lanes (4+4) under the IMPROVE Act. I just haven't seen a timetable... which of course, is frustrating as justification of the passage of the law was based on moving up the start of over 90 projects to within a few years.  I sent a nastygram to the TDOT Commissioner about 5 months ago with a list of 'Shame on you's" that nothing has been done here. I also referenced I-65 from Exit 96 to the KY border. I actually received a reply. "We're working on it." 

One of the bypasses considered a decade ago was to the south of I-24 and actually tunneling under Lookout Mountain. Of course, that's not going to happen, but double-decking I-24 through the city was also considered with express lanes (upper) over local (lower).  That's not funded, and it would even have a logistics challenge (double decking up a ridge), but recently a company was engaged to discuss taking the express level to the south of East Ridge and connecting to Battlefield Parkway.  The plan would have NO EXITS except for one at Battlefield. 

Edited June 7, 2020 by MLBrumby

[MidTenn1]

1 hour ago, Titans10 said:

No way they build a freeway over a National Park, that said traffic does suck in that area. 

I see that now. Moccasin Bend National Archeological District. You are correct.