Since 2022, members of the Chattanooga Housing Authority’s development team have been developing the phases of One Westside, a project that will revitalize 300 acres of downtown riverfront, expand downtown education opportunities and create more affordable housing for more than 2,000 residents of Chattanooga’s Westside, local officials say.
During a May meeting, the Chattanooga Housing Authority board of commissioners authorized a $14.5 million contract with Tricon Inc. for the first phase of construction at the James A. Henry Building.
The project will include a 117-seat Head Start program on the first floor, as well as playgrounds at the back of the building. A health services facility and art gallery will also be included on the first floor of the building.
Multi-purpose rooms for community development along with an additional wing that was in the original design in 1937 but never constructed will complete the second floor of the building.
Phasing
Formerly know as Westside Evolves, One Westside will involve four phases of construction. CHA expects to begin the first phase of construction in July and the second phase in summer 2025.
Phase II will provide various community spaces, including a gym, three kitchens, meeting rooms and a terrace for neighborhood gatherings. CHA expects to conclude the second phase by July 2026.
The third phase will go out for bid in 2025 and 2026 and will include relocation of existing utilities, a park with a walking trail, a gardening area, a small sculpture park, a splash pad, playgrounds, multipurpose play courts, a performance area attached to the community center and restrooms for the park.
The final phase is anticipated to go out for bid and construction in 2027. Phase IV will include completion of parking and landscaping, installation of utilities and exterior campus lighting and final site work. Once complete, CHA will transfer the land and the James A. Henry Building to the city of Chattanooga.
Housing
Residents of College Hill Courts met with the master developer and design team in May to provide input on the site, units and amenities design. The One Westside Plan includes demolition and one-for-one replacement of the College Hill Courts and the Gateway Tower housing units (629 units in total) with new mixed-income housing over several phases in the Westside neighborhood.
The first phase of housing provides 230 mixed-income units at the former Youth and Family (YFD) site. The new development will consist of three-story and four-story multifamily buildings with surface parking and one five-story podium-parked structure on a 5.5-acre parcel, providing 40 units per acre.
Thanks to a donation by the city of Chattanooga, the land needed for the first phase of housing and rezoning provides a new overlay to match the master plan. Columbia Residential and the Chattanooga Housing Authority are partners in the ownership and development of One Westside housing.
Partnerships
With a cost of more than $79 million for the total development of the first phase of housing, funding partnerships are critical to the success of the One Westside plan, CHA officials say. With this in mind, project master developer Columbia Residential submitted a 4% and 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) application to the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA).
THDA Executive Director Ralph Perry announced an allocation of $35 million – the largest LIHTC in Chattanooga history.
CHA is also in the process of partnering in a memorandum of understanding with EPB of Chattanooga to incorporate geothermal and solar panels at the YFD site.
“The One Westside Plan funding and partnership plan is much like the neighborhood we’re building with the residents: inclusive, transparent and efficient,” note CHA officials. “Our partners know we’ll be good stewards of every dollar invested in this project.”
All funds for Phase I have been committed, which include City HOME funds, City Capital funds, business and philanthropic sources.
One Westside will also be the recipient of funding from the tax increment financing passed by both the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County as part of The Bend project.