Chattanooga: North Shore public garage to open next month

A public garage on the North Shore at the intersection of Frazier Avenue and Tremont Street will open next month, officials said Thursday.

Tom Dugan, executive director of the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, said there will be a total of 375 parking spots in the $5.1 million garage with 250 open to the public. The other spots are controlled by the developer, he said.

The garage will open Nov. 28, just in time for the holiday shopping season, he said.

The garage butts up against The Terrace at Frazier, a commercial and residential property being built by developer Jimmy Hudson. Once the garage opens, it will help businesses in the area, Mr. Dugan said.

“We see it initially as an employee parking area,” he said.

Mr. Dugan said parking rates for the garage have not been set.

The city of Chattanooga has issued more than $3.3 million in bonds for the project, records show. Mr. Dugan said CARTA officials would go before City Council in the next few weeks to ask for an additional $854,288 loan to be paid over 10 years.

Dennis Plumlee, owner of The North Chatt Cat, said his restaurant is directly across the street from the garage. When it opens, it should boost business, because many of his customers have complained of parking for years, he said.

“It will help greatly; we need all the parking we can get,” Mr. Plumlee said.

But he also warned that signs need to be placed and the public notified that the garage is opening.

“Until people know there’s a garage, it might not help,” he said.