Revitalize. Renew. Reinvest.
A Homerun for all of Hamilton County.
In February 2024, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, Hamilton County Weston Wamp, the entire City Council, and the entire Hamilton County Commission endorsed a final financing plan, paving the way for a groundbreaking in April 2024.
Building the Future, Together.
In response to public support, the Hamilton County Commission and Chattanooga City Council overwhelmingly approved a plan to issue $80 million in bonds in 2022 to revitalize the South Broad District of Chattanooga by funding a mixed-use stadium to catalyze $1+ billion in new investment and $2.3 billion in economic impact in the area.
This bold step forward will soon remake the western gateway into our Scenic City for the good of all who call Hamilton County home.
The process of revitalizing the South Broad district began in 2003 and continued under several City and County Administrations. In 2017, The Chattanooga Design Studio, an independent non-profit community design resource, began a planning study of the South Broad District, which includes more than 400 acres just south of Downtown Chattanooga. The study area included the U.S. Pipe and Wheland Foundry site (140 acres), South Broad Street, Southside Gardens, Market Street, and the area surrounding Howard School.
The purpose of the study was to develop a realistic, long-term vision for the revitalization of the district. This vision was developed through a public-participatory planning process that involved hundreds of residents during the summer and fall of 2017.
In the years since, planners have used the South Broad District Study as a blueprint for reimagining this historic site into a space where anyone can live, work, shop, dine, and recreate.
In order to keep up with rising costs, a city must grow or raise taxes.
We choose growth.
This historic investment will yield a return that will benefit the entire region for generations.
The Plan, the Community, and the Lookouts
This once-in-a generation opportunity to spur the revitalization of the entire South Broad District will be accomplished by redeveloping — and in some places restoring — 140 acres of the dilapidated Wheland Foundry and U.S. Pipe sites to create a vibrant live-work-play mixed use neighborhood. The ultimate private-sector investment in the project is expected to exceed $1 billion, providing +$2.3 billion in economic impact for residents of our region for decades to come.
The first phase will attract over $300 million in private investment to build multi-family residential buildings with hundreds of units, a class-A office building, and a multi-use outdoor entertainment venue (stadium) anchored by our beloved Chattanooga Lookouts.
This redevelopment will preserve and reuse many of the historic buildings on the site, creating an iconic gateway feature as visitors enter Chattanooga from the west on Interstate 24. The initial massive investment is expected to attract secondary investment to the South Broad District in general, and to the Southside Gardens neighborhood in particular.
Chattanooga has attracted an award-winning real estate development firm, New City Properties, to serve as the master developer for this impressive project through every stage of design, restoration, and construction.