Westside One receives final approval

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A major project in Chattanooga’s Westside has received final approval.

The Chattanooga Industrial Board gave the final go ahead for one of the largest projects in Chattanooga’s history on Monday.

The project is a combination of The Bend and Westside Evolves.

A rendering of an artificial canal being proposed for the future The Bends project. (Courtesy: Westside One)

The Bend will be a mixed-use space in between the Tennessee River and Riverside Drive between MLK Boulevard and Main Street.

Jimmy White, the President of Urban Story Ventures, says the space will feature office, commercial, and retail space along with recreation including a marina and park space.

He says construction will begin by the end of Spring.

White said, “Additionally, we’re breaking ground on the northside of the phase, which will be the MLK corridor. Again, we’ve got roughly 120 acres, 3,000 linear feet of riverfront.  We’ve always said bring the riverfront and the city back to the riverfront, so MLK is the first portion of that. We have 1,018 beds touching that part of the site. You’ll see some multi-family there, grocery store anchor opportunities as well. Following that, we’ll shift our focus to the Main Street corridor.”

On the other side of Riverside Drive, the Westside Evolves plan focuses more on the public housing complexes in the Golden Gateway.

Among these, there are plans to renovate nearly century old housing units at College Hill Courts and Gateway Towers and add new green space.

Additionally, Hamilton County is investing in a new school in the community as well.

This project will be funded by a tax increment financing district, worth 115 million dollars.

Developers hope the project creates at least 800 million in revenue over the next decade.