Chattanooga will join five other communities across the country in the inaugural Putting Assets to Work Incubator, a new initiative that will revitalize and recirculate underutilized property and other assets across the city.
As part of Mayor Tim Kelly’s 100-day plan in 2021, the city inventoried more than 650 underutilized parcels totaling more than 2,500 acres that could be leveraged toward better use.
The parcels range from surplus tax sale properties to difficult-to-develop brownfields and will be further studied to determine an appropriate use.
Through Putting Assets to Work, the city will embark on a 10-month fact-finding mission to map and plan uses for these underutilized properties and other assets – such as dormant parking lots and former industrial sites – that could be suitable for private investment.
A similar project in Utah revealed a collection of underutilized assets that were worth billions of dollars in economic opportunity.
The city will then leverage these assets to create jobs and homes while still retaining public ownership of the underlying properties.
The proceeds will return to the community in the form of new revenue for initiatives that support the One Chattanooga strategic plan, such as affordable housing and transportation infrastructure investments.
Former Mayor and Congressman Ben McAdams is spearheading the Putting Assets to Work Incubator in partnership with the Sorenson Impact Center, the Government Finance Officers Association and Urban3.
The city was selected to participate through a competitive application process and joins governments in Annapolis, Maryland; Atlanta; Cleveland; Harris County, Texas, and Lancaster, California.
Source: City of Chattanooga