Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp announced a partnership that will revitalize the Westside urban area that spans over 300 acres on the riverfront.
The One Westside plan will include Urban Story Venture’s development of The Bend + Chattanooga Housing Authority’s Westside Community Evolves plan.
The partnership aims to expand downtown education, create affordable housing for 2,000+ Westside residents, instill a new Choice Neighborhoods grant through HUD + enhance public infrastructure along 3,000 ft of the Tennessee River.
One Westside envisions:
- One million sqft of commercial space
- Thousands of new homes — 10% of rental units will be reserved for residents making 80% or less of the area’s median income
- 14 acres of new green space, including nine acres for a new Riverfront park on The Bend
Let’s talk financing. As this is a massive project, a new system of tax increment financing (TIF) will be put into place under the partnership to capture revenue coming from the redevelopment — fueling areas of affordable housing, education, and more.
Chattanooga + Hamilton County project over the course of 10 years, the TIF district and Westside Evolves will unlock a minimum of $800 million in new development.
This TIF period will be enacted over the span of 20 years per parcel. Both the county and city property tax revenue will use their normal amounts for essential services. See how the rest will be split up:
- County property tax revenue | 53% of remaining revenue will fund downtown education, with the remaining funding being allocated to the TIF
- City property tax revenue | 53% of remaining revenue will fund the Westside Evolves plan, downtown education opportunities (in partnership with the county), a new fire station + public infrastructure improvements
Stay tuned for future updates + check out the development for more information.
“This trajectory-altering approach will provide a long-term lift to every resident’s quality of life and will go the distance toward addressing our residents’ housing, education and employment needs for decades to come.” — Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly
