One Westside housing project entering new phase

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)-  The next phase of the One Westside project received its first approval.

This is the effort to modernize the public housing units in that neighborhood.

Many of the projects, including College Hill Courts, are 85 years old and lack many modern amenities.

The One Westside plans to replace those with brand new housing units that would be mixed-income.

They asked the city’s Health, Education, and Housing Board to issue a 20 million dollar bond to build a second phase of units along Boynton Drive near the Gateway Towers.

The Chattanooga Housing Authority and developers reiterated they want to cause as little disruption as possible for the over 300 families who live at College Hill Courts.

Jim McGrauley of Columbia Residential said, “We’re going to create housing off site before these College Hill Courts units come down. So people have an opportunity to move into these locations instead of going somewhere offsite. They also have a choice of where they want to live, they don’t have to live there but the Housing Authority and their partners on relocation are going to handle that starting once we have Phase One underway and Phase two and we work our way through.”

The HEB Board approved that bond.

The first phase of new housing is already under construction off of 12th Street near Highway 27.