AIM Center celebrates milestone of Espero project as leaders hope it can help tackle affordable housing
Espero Chattanooga under construction. (Courtesy: AIM Center, INC.)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A recent report from UTC shows that housing prices in the Chattanooga area have risen by 88 percent since 2019.
With this in mind, several organizations are looking to put a dent in the affordable housing problem.
Leaders say projects such as Espero Chattanooga on Main Street will be a part of the solution.
This $21 million dollar project undertaken by the AIM Center will introduce 60 housing units.
A third of these will be reserved for individuals who are chronically homeless with serious mental illnesses or those reentering society from the justice system.
These specifically will be for those at or below 30 percent of the area’s median income.
The center says this project will look to address a major need in our community.
AIM Center President and CEO Anna Protano-Biggs said, “What we saw was a need in our community. A revolving door of people in and out of hospitals, out of jails, who didn’t have respect and dignity that we all deserve in this community. They didn’t have homes.”
However, they say it’s only a start, as the Chattanooga housing market continues to be in high demand.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly’s Senior Advisor Chris Anderson said, “We’re still a few thousand units short of today’s demand, and that’s why people want to live here, either from here or someone else.”
Mayor Kelly says that the city is looking to address the need but can’t go at it alone.
He said, “The city doesn’t build housing, but we have to induce the market to build housing. From everything like this, permanent supportive housing, all the way up to workforce housing. We’ve done as much as any city in the country to induce that development from zoning reform to additional dwelling units to voluntary zoning incentives so we’re making progress. The housing supply is coming up, rents are stabilizing, so we’re making a lot of progress.”
In the meantime, the future residents at Espero Chattanooga will get support services as they work to improve themselves.
Protano-Biggs said, “All of these different types of wrap around supports or things you can get help with at the AIM Center, with the support of case managers, can help make sure you are getting those supports on a daily basis. They can help you learn how to be a good tenant, how to make sure you’re paying your rent on time, all those different types of things so you can learn how to thrive in your community and get back in your community.”
Ashley Wolfe Evans, the director of AIM Center’s board, added, “To the people we will soon welcome into Espero Chattanooga, let me say, we can’t wait to welcome you home.”
Espero is expected to be completed by the end of Spring 2026.
