The Steiner family has committed to a seven-figure contribution to explore a women’s athletics complex at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The complex will include new competition and practice facilities for women’s soccer, new locker rooms for women’s beach volleyball and new practice facilities and locker rooms for women’s softball.
The Steiner family gift is the foundational contribution to an ongoing fundraising effort for the new women’s athletic complex to be located at the current UTC Sports Complex and Engel Stadium site bounded by East Third, O’Neal and Oak streets.
“The Steiner family has a long history of supporting UTC, especially our women’s athletics programs,” Mark Wharton, vice chancellor and director of athletics, says. “We’re thankful for their generosity and the transformative impact this gift will have for multiple sports programs.”
“Supporting UTC and its student athletes has been a privilege for our family,” Movita Steiner says. “The new women’s athletics complex will be an exciting opportunity for many students, and our family is pleased to see the impact this gift will have on campus and our community for years to come.”
In addition to extensive women’s basketball team support, the Steiner family has supported scholarships and programs in the colleges of Engineering and Computer Science and Health, Education and Professional Studies.
Grant funds preserve local Civil War sites
American Battlefield Trust will receive money from the Civil War Sites Preservation Fund for the acquisition and preservation of two Hamilton County Civil War sites.
ABT will receive $125,250 for the acquisition of the 30.7-acre Charton Tract at Wauhatchie Battlefield. (ABT received $344,250 from the Civil War Sites Preservation Fund during previous grant cycles to bring the total award for the purchase of the property to $469,500.) American Battlefield Trust will also receive $22,500 for the acquisition of the 0.46-acre Essary Tract at the Chattanooga Battlefield.
The Tennessee legislature established the Civil War Sites Preservation Fund in 2013. The Tennessee Wars Commission – the Tennessee Historical Commission division responsible for preserving the state’s military history – administers the application and grant processes. The Tennessee Historical Commission approves and awards the grants.
With the 2025 round of grants, the Civil War Sites Preservation Fund has now allocated $20.3 million in matching funds for the acquisition and preservation of over 1,100 acres associated with the 38 most significant Civil War sites in Tennessee.
“In addition to saving irreplaceable historic places, this program has helped create parks and preserve open space and wildlife habitat, including in urban areas where there’s significant development pressure,” says Tennessee Historical Commission Director Patrick McIntyre.
Mast General Store to open in Chattanooga
Mast General Store will expand with a forthcoming location in Chattanooga. The store’s anticipated opening is spring 2027.
Mast Store recently finalized the purchase of a historic property at 222 Broad Street in downtown Chattanooga’s Riverfront neighborhood. The company will “revive and preserve this building while creating a welcoming and vibrant retail space,” notes Mast General Store President Lisa Cooper.
“Chattanooga is the perfect destination for our next Mast Store,” added Cooper. “We’ve had our eye on this dynamic city for more than a decade, and the right space for us became available at the right time.”
Mast Store “holds firm to the traditions of a general store while providing an authentic Southern shopping experience,” continues Cooper. Each of the Mast Store’s 11 locations incorporates elements of local history into its design and decor. Before renovations to its newly acquired Chattanooga property begin, Mast Store will research the role this building – formerly a trolley barn that in recent years was adapted to house Big River Grill – has played in the region’s commerce.
The future Chattanooga Mast Store will be the company’s 12th location and its second in Tennessee. Chattanooga will be Mast Store’s westernmost location in its four-state region of operations, which includes the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia.
Mast General Store first opened in 1883 in Valle Crucis, North Carolina, where the company is headquartered today, and it most recently expanded in 2020 with a location in Roanoke, Virginia.
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City Council to vote on tree canopy ordinance
The Kelly Administration is touting a new proposed tree ordinance aimed at preserving the city’s tree canopy while ensuring responsible development. The ordinance is focused on replacement, not restriction.
The new ordinance aims to balance environmental sustainability with economic development. The ordinance does not prohibit homeowners from removing trees on private property. It primarily applies to new developments, where large-scale land clearing often reduces the city’s tree canopy.
The ordinance requires that for every acre developed, property owners must account for 36 inches of tree caliper, which is roughly equivalent to 18 new trees. Developers have three options: plant 36 inches of tree caliper per acre in any combination that meets the requirement; retain at least 36 inches of existing tree caliper per acre; or pay into the Chattanooga Tree Bank at 125% of the cost of planting, funding tree planting efforts in other parts of the city.
Thrive taps Soddy Daisy for environmental trial
Soddy Daisy will participate in the 2025 Resilient Communities program, a Thrive Regional Partnership and Open Space Institute initiative that helps communities plan for and address environmental challenges such as severe weather conditions.
In the Resilient Communities program, residents of Soddy Daisy will work with Thrive and OSI to understand and address local environmental challenges. Thrive and OSI will aim to equip the community with natural solutions that can be used to protect against fast-moving floodwaters, heat islands or droughts and erosion.
Throughout the Resilient Communities program, participants receive support from experts in civic engagement, environmental science and data analysis. By the end of the program, Soddy Daisy will have created a resilience plan unique to its community. It will also be eligible to receive seed funding of $20,000 to implement their resilience strategy and leverage for additional investment.
Local communities that have completed the pilot program and are currently implementing their resilience plans include Dalton, Georgia and the Emma Wheeler Homes neighborhood in Chattanooga.
A $2.87 million federal grant awarded to Thrive Regional Partnership by the Appalachian Regional Commission under the Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies funds the Resilient Communities program.