J&J Contractors has been awarded a $29 million construction and renovation project for Soddy Daisy Middle School, a multiyear effort aimed at easing overcrowding and modernizing the school’s facilities.
Located about 20 minutes north of Chattanooga, the school opened in 1960 to serve students in grades seven through nine. The comprehensive project will include upgrades to existing spaces and construction of a new gymnasium. Work is expected to take nearly three years to complete. Pre-construction activities are underway, with full-scale construction scheduled to begin in October.
The project will expand and update facilities to support both current and future student needs while improving the overall learning environment for students and staff.
J&J Contractors said it will work closely with school officials and local stakeholders to manage phased construction and minimize disruption to the active campus.
The Chattanooga-based company has more than 50 years of experience and has completed nearly 2,000 projects across Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, including more than 100 schools, colleges and universities. Additional information is available at jjcontractors.com.
Feb. Hamilton Co. home sales top $346M
Property sales in Hamilton County totaled about $346 million in February, according to the latest Sales & Mortgages Report from the Hamilton County Register of Deeds office.
The report shows about $346 million in property conveyed, generating roughly $1.28 million in conveyance tax for the state. Mortgage lending also remained strong, with about $561 million in total loan value recorded and about $628,000 collected in mortgage taxes.
A total of 1,147 deeds and 1,187 deeds of trust were recorded in February, with 4,643 documents filed overall, according to the report from Register of Deeds Marc Gravitt.
The largest transaction recorded during the month was a $48.3 million property transfer at 1920 Gunbarrel Road in Chattanooga. Other major transactions included a $15.5 million sale at 601 Cumberland Ave. and a $6.8 million transaction at 2800 Riverport Road.
The report summarizes property sales, mortgage activity and the largest real estate transactions recorded in Hamilton County during February 2026.
Sheriff’s office reports crime drop
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has released its 2025 Annual Statistical Review, reporting a significant decline in crime across the county last year.
According to the report, deputies responded to nearly 75,000 calls for service in 2025 while overall crime dropped by 20%. Several major categories saw substantial decreases, including a 67% decline in nonfatal shooting accidents involving gunshot wounds, a 41% drop in school threats and a 38% reduction in intimidation and harassment offenses.
Other decreases included a 21% reduction in aggravated assaults and an 11% decline in rape cases.
Sheriff Austin Garrett said the improvements reflect the agency’s focus on professionalism and service.
The full 2025 statistical review is available at www.hcsheriff.gov, which also hosts a daily updated crime data dashboard.
Moccasin Bend launches methane power project
Chattanooga’s Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus is launching a project that will generate electricity from methane produced during wastewater treatment, reducing energy costs and converting a byproduct into a reliable on-site power source.
The project will use linear generators installed by Mainspring Energy to produce electricity from captured methane. Once fully operational at three megawatts, the system is expected to offset about one-third of the campus’ roughly $300,000 monthly electric bill while eliminating routine methane flaring.
Moccasin Bend selected Mainspring to install six generators this year, producing an initial 1.5 megawatts of electricity. Six additional generators are planned after campus upgrades, doubling total capacity.
Generating power on-site will also strengthen grid reliability by reducing dependence on outside electricity during periods of high demand or disruption. When completed, the installation will rank among the largest municipal biogas-to-power projects in the Southeast.
The Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus is the largest wastewater treatment facility in southeast Tennessee, with a treatment capacity of 230 million gallons per day and an average daily flow of about 65 million gallons. The campus serves more than 400,000 residents across six counties and two states.