Envisioning The Bend 👀

What will the Bend development look like in ~10 years?

One of Chattanooga’s largest current development projects is an over 120-acre mixed-use community right on the riverfront — the Bend. The large scale project, once completed, is set to feature condos, apartments, hotels, retail, dining, offices, medical and industrial buildings, green spaces, and even a canal running through the center of the community.

It’s an exciting development to envision, but with an estimated 10-year timeline, it can sometimes be difficult to envision what’s to come on such a broad tract of land (part of which sits empty at the moment). That’s why we reached out to the Bend for help picturing what’s to come — thanks to the aid of renderings and a tour of the site. Check it out. 👇

NOOGAtoday: The Bend canal before — The canal district area “before.” |

NOOGAtoday: The Bend canal — The canal district will feature retail, restaurants, and more once completed. |

NOOGAtoday: The Bend music venue before — The proposed music venue site “before.” |

WHAT WILL THE VENUE LOOK LIKE?

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Today, Dec. 15

Christmas Cookie Decorating Class | Thursday, Dec. 15 | 5-8 p.m. | East Ridge Parks and Recreation Department, 1515 Tombras Ave., East Ridge | Food donation | Decorate cookies with Mrs. Claus at this event — get in with a donation for the East Ridge Food Pantry.
Create a Vision Board for 2023 | Thursday, Dec. 15 | 6-8 p.m. | The Chattery, 1800 Rossville Ave., Chattanooga | $30 | Create a dynamic vision board for 2023 in this class.
Cultural Cross Ties Art Installation Unveiling | Thursday, Dec. 15 | 4-5:30 p.m. | Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, 1001 Airport Rd., Chattanooga | Free | This exhibit celebrates the collaboration between four artists in Chattanooga + four artists in Giv’Atayim, Israel.

Friday, Dec. 16

Winter Break Spectacular | Friday, Dec. 16 | 2-7 p.m. | Miller Park, 910 Market St., Chattanooga | Free | All Hamilton County students and families are invited to celebrate with photos, music, games + a screening of “Elf.”
Winter Holidays: What do You Celebrate? | Friday, Dec. 16 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | The Local Juicery + Kitchen, 48 E. Main St., Chattanooga | Free, RSVP | Join for a fun evening learning about holidays around the world over hot cocoa and cookies.
The Dolly Disco | Friday, Dec. 16 | 9 p.m. | The Signal, 1810 Chestnut St., Chattanooga | $20-$40 | Come out to a Dolly Parton-inspired “country western disco dance party.”

Saturday, Dec. 17

Cookies and Cocoa with Santa | Saturday, Dec. 17 | 10 a.m.-12 p.m. + 1-3 p.m. | Chattanooga Zoo, 301 N. Holtzclaw Ave., Chattanooga | Free with zoo admission | Visit Santa Claus at the zoo and enjoy hot cocoa, coffee, cookies, crafts + more.
Winter Solstice Market | Saturday, Dec. 17 | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | The Chattery, 1800 Rossville Ave., Chattanooga | Free+ | Shop local, unique, and handmade gifts at this holiday market.
Wine Theory Wine Tasting at Imbibe | Saturday, Dec. 17 | 2-4 p.m. | Imbibe, 1616 Broad St., Chattanooga | Free+ | Come out for free in-shop wine tasting featuring wines from the Wine Theory portfolio.

We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

100+ MORE EVENTS

Weather

51º | Partly cloudy | 10% chance of rain 🌤️

Civic

Mayor Tim Kelly vetoed an ordinance passed by Chattanooga City Council that would have raised the maximum allowable rates charged by towing companies. Kelly proposed an alternative rate schedule to accommodate the towing industry’s increasing costs while not overcharging Chattanoogans. (Chattanoogan.com)
Chattanooga City Council has voted to extend its pause on applications for new, short-term vacation rental permits in the city until July 2023. The pause is meant to give the city time to understand how to best enforce short-term rental regulations for absentee rentals. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

Real Estate

According to Realtor.com, Chattanooga ranks as the ninth hottest market in 2023 for growth in home sales and prices. The top housing markets project Chattanooga’s median home price will jump an additional 8.2% + the number of homes sold will increase another 2.9% next year. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

Community

The City of Chattanooga will allocate $50,000 to temporarily house those displaced by the closure of the Budgetel Inn. Yesterday, the Hamilton County Commission also voted to contribute $50,000 For Budgetel replacement rooms, with city funds to be used first. 🏠 (Chattanooga Times Free Press, Chattanoogan.com)

Ranked

EPB has been named No. 1 in the “Best Customer Satisfaction for Residential Electric Service in the South among Midsize Utilities” by J.D. Power for the seventh consecutive year. EPB ranked the best in billing and payment, price, power quality and reliability, and customer care categories.

Sports

The Chattanooga Red Wolves selected Ziggy Korytoski as the team’s new head coach for its upcoming season. Korytoski has coached professionally over the course of two decades in Central America, Asia, and the US. Welcome to Chattanooga, Coach Korytoski. 🐺

Number

~3,100. That’s how many recipients of The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program will receive gifts this year thanks to the community’s help. Nearly 1,400 families in need will receive their gifts beginning tomorrow, Dec. 15. 🎁

Edu

Hamilton County Schools appointed Robert Alford as the new executive principal for the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. Alford previously served as the principal at Hunter Middle School + will be responsible for establishing a strong supportive continuum of learning for CSAS.

Job

Hey, Nooga: Did you know common over-the-counter self-care products, like Gold Bond or Icy Hot, are made right here in Chattanooga by Sanofi’s Consumer Healthcare group? Cool, huh? (…pun intended.) Learn about career opportunities at Sanofi.*

Seasonal

Got a coffee lover in your family? We can almost guarantee these two products are on their wish list — the Fellow Stagg Electric Kettle and the Fellow Pour Over Coffee Set. Both strike the perfect balance of form and function. Psst — don’t forget the matching travel mug. ☕ *

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This story absorbed our attention like a sponge 🧽

What’s up with the sponges at the Chattanooga Airport?

“oUr AirPoRt iS beTtER thAn ChATtaNoogA’s.” | Gif via Giphy

Vegas’ airport has gambling, Chicago’s has its extensive art, Austin has a unique “interimaginery departure” airport exhibit, and Chattanooga? Why, Chattanooga has its sponges.

Travelers walking through the Chattanooga Airport may have noticed a small but intriguing display full of various sponges + foam.

Back in 2014, one Twitter traveler had the same question we do — what, exactly, is the deal with these sponges? At the time, she got a response from the airport that said the exhibit was “a corporate display highlighting the foam used to make the products.”

To us, the story was still full of holes. (Get it? Because... sponges? Anyway.) Why couldn’t we find any updates since 2014? Is there more information here? What exactly are “the products”? So, we called the airport to find out if there was more information to be found. Here’s what we learned: the sponge exhibit is an advertising display for a local foam manufacturer, Woodridge INOAC.

The company is a joint venture partnership between Woodbridge and INOAC, and its technical products headquarters are located right here in Chattanooga. The more ya know, huh?

Bonus: Today, an unveiling of the Cultural Cross Ties art installation will take place at the airport, so you can take in the beauty of sponges alongside our sister city’s art.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Brianna.

Editor’s pick: Still on the hunt to find the perfect gift? You could always wait until Monday’s newsletter for a list of our favorite experience-based gifts. Last year, I received an experience-based gift in the form of an aquarium membership, and I love it.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Check out these cool local Instagram accounts.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Brianna Williams, Kristen Templeton, Dayten Rose, Josh Kranzberg, Emily Shea | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Sarah Edwards | Advertise with us.

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