City pauses CARTA building plans after neighbor input

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Earlier on Thursday, the Mayor’s Office announced a change in application for the 12th Street CARTA building, which the city is examining as a potential site for an emergency shelter.

The city met with neighbors of the 12th street CARTA building recently to get their input on what should be the future of the building.

They received mixed reactions from members of the public.

Administrators are meeting again next week to gather more input from people directly impacted by this decision.

Referred to as the ‘12th Street Shelter’, the current building will require a permission for a change of use by the Regional Planning Commission.

“We had submitted an application to the Regional Planning Agency for a Change in use for the building that’s located at 710 E 12 St. It’s the old CARTA facility out there. What it would’ve allowed us to do was change the use from transportation to shelter,” Administrator for the Department of Economic Development Richard Beeland said.

After meeting with neighbors of the community, the city has decided to withdraw this application for now.

Administrators will be seeking additional input from those directly impacted by this decision.

“We want to make sure that we’re listening to everyone and we’re getting the right amount of information. And we’re addressing all the concerns people have. Not only the people who are concerned about the impact it will have, but also the homeless individuals who will be experiencing this shelter,” Beeland explained.

The hope for the old CARTA building is to serve as a shelter for people who are experiencing homelessness.

Director of Homeless Initiatives Casey Tinker said, “We have been working towards a shelter for many years now. It has been a recommendation in all the major plans that the city needs a shelter in order to help with the homeless situation.”

Tinker said this building would create accessible restrooms and additional components for individuals facing homelessness.

He explained there have been concerns about restrooms and other amenities in a reconstructed shelter.

“There’s a lot of things that the community has expressed to us already, there’s a lot more. We want to make sure that we’re listening to them, that we’re gathering information from them, so that we can be able to address this holistically. Not only do we want to address the issues of the people experiencing homelessness, but we also want to address the issues from the people that are in the area that experience the results of people experiencing homelessness in their neighborhood,” Beeland said.

The next community conversation will be held on November 15 at The Bessie Smith Cultural Center, with two more meetings to be set before the holiday period.

More information about the project along with questions and answers from the meetings will be posted online.