What’s in store for Chattanooga’s Montague Park

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Montague Park is getting a facelift. There are plans in the works to make it the new Central Park of Chattanooga.

“We have a very special and rare event tonight. Big city parks don’t come along like this every day. They just don’t. Cities across the globe would give their left leg to have the opportunity Chattanooga does right now on the acreage we are sitting on. So, we are going to celebrate that,” said Scott Martin, administrator for the Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors.

City officials hope this park redesign will make Chattanooga proud.

“This park has unfortunately had a sad sort of chapter between the Nolan era and where we are today,” Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said. “But we stand on the brink of some really exciting stuff. We can transform this into a remarkable public space that Chattanooga can really be proud of.”

Many new features will be coming to the park.

“From the greenway extension that will service from the beltline that will connect this part to Eastlake and the southside, the team sports complexes, and just adding to the 450-acre shortfall that we have currently in city parks, is a really exciting plan that you see around this tent. Many of you have heard me say our outdoor and our green spaces are our competitive advantage in Chattanooga,” Mayor Kelly added.

However, the current designs need the public’s feedback.

“I want to be crystal clear about one thing. These look like a park that’s final, a park that we’ve fully designed. This is the beginning. We have come up with a vision for Montague Park of how we can start to utilize these things, get excited with the community, and there is a long process ahead of us,” John Kett, Managing Principal of Reed Hilderbrand said.

Some of the new additions will be water features, a botanical garden and much more.

To see the full project vision for Montague Park, visit their website.