Southeast real estate development group Urban Story Ventures broke ground last week on a $28 million Class A industrial building situated on 19 acres within the Centre South Riverport Industrial Park. The site is located at 2685 Riverport Road in the industrial corridor along Amnicola Highway and the Tennessee River.
Community stakeholders and business leaders gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony, where officials from Hamilton County, the city of Chattanooga, and the Chattanooga Area Chamber shared their support of the project, which is expected to meet a serious need for more class A industrial space and potentially recruit one of Chattanooga’s next major employers.
Urban Story Ventures is open to leasing the space to one or multiple tenants with a move-in target of next spring. Design highlights for the new industrial facility include at least 185,000 square feet of light to heavy industrial or logistics space, potential for 40,000 square feet of mezzanine space, several loading docks, ample parking and gated entry.
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Erlanger receives ALS support
Erlanger Neurology has received $75,000 from the ALS Association. ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a fatal and progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The ALS Association is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to the fight against ALS. The association provides research, care services, public education and public policy.
Erlanger is one of five ALS clinics in the state and the only multi-disciplinary location in the region. The multi-disciplinary approach brings together a team of health care professionals trained to address the needs of people living with ALS, allowing them to receive care from each discipline during a single visit. Erlanger’s care team includes the region’s only board-certified neuromuscular physicians, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a respiratory therapist, a speech language pathologist, a clinical dietician, a neuropsychologist, a social worker, a nurse, and an ALS Association chapter liaison.
The ALS Clinic at Erlanger meets on the third Tuesday of each month. Learn more at erlanger.org/ALSClinic.
Community Foundation grants $27 million
The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga distributed nearly $27 million throughout the region last year thanks to expanded use of donor advised funds, foundation officials say.
Specifically, CFGC made 2,722 grants totaling $26,287,076.05 over the course of 2023, an 8.8% increase over the total amount distributed in 2022. These grants included significant gifts to local priorities such as education, housing, food security and workforce development.
Of these gifts, approximately $16.8 million were made from 132 donor advised funds. The total amount distributed from the foundation’s DAFs is the highest in eight years and the second highest amount in the philanthropy’s 63-year history.
These funds allow individuals and families to make charitable contributions from which they can realize immediate tax benefits. Deposits in the DAF can then be invested and grow tax-free.
House advances anti-choking device bill
The House has advanced legislation that would create a grant program to provide anti-choking devices to schools in Tennessee. Sponsored by State Rep. Greg Martin, House Bill 2028 would require the Tennessee Department of Health to administer a grant program reimbursing public and private schools and first responders for anti-choking devices.
Anti-choking devices help clear objects out of airways. The program would reimburse schools for the purchase of one device for each cafeteria in a school and medical first responders for one device in each emergency response vehicle.
The three-year grant program would take effect July 1, with a limit of $500,000 in awards.
Martin represents House District 26, which includes part of Hamilton County.
Governor honors United Way
Volunteer Tennessee recognized United Way of Greater Chattanooga for its commitment to fostering volunteer involvement during its annual Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards celebration in February.
The Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards promotes volunteerism by recognizing outstanding volunteers from each of Tennessee’s 95 counties.
United Way of Greater Chattanooga recently started taking advantage of employee downtime by offering asynchronous volunteer projects at work.
The nonprofit also utilizes large groups to complete complex projects that would otherwise take longer and cost more. For example, a skilled volunteer group was able to complete a drainage project for a local nonprofit for the cost of the materials in one day.