East Ridge leaders try to reshape town's image

Mentions of East Ridge, Hamilton County's second-largest municipality, often conjure snickers about the number of pawn shops, check-cashing huts and used-car lots that dot the city's main thoroughfare, of Ringgold Road.

City officials admit they have an image problem, but they insist looks are deceiving.

"Two years ago, we started an effort to just ask the citizens what they would like to see in a perfect town," Mayor Mike Steele said. "I took a whiteboard and asked, 'What would you like to see?' And on the other side I put everything that East Ridge already has."

What he found was affordable housing, good schools, low crime, a small-town feel and good proximity to downtown Chattanooga and the area's major shopping locations.

But the mayor says outsiders tend to focus on the negative -- an unsightly central business district, to name one downside -- and nothing else.

To combat that, officials are embarking on a two- to-five-year effort to recast East Ridge's brand. They have hired a public relations firm, set about plans to redo exit 1 off Interstate 75 and are cracking down on codes enforcement along Ringgold Road.

"Part of the problem with East Ridge is that we keep hearing about the bad, and we forget about the good," Mr. Steele said. "The vast majority of people who live in East Ridge don't think of it that way."

The goal is simple, officials say: attract young, first-time home buyers, retirees and small-business owners. To do that, officials want to spread the word about what East Ridge has to offer.

Driving the City Council's plan is the East Ridge Revitalization Committee, a group of citizens who have decided the goals for the town. "Energize East Ridge" was the name given to the idea-generating process.

"Out of our meeting, we developed goals, and then we said, 'What are we going to do about it?,'" said Donna Reed, chairwoman of the Revitalization Committee.

At least one business manager sees some good in the city's efforts.

"Most people I talk to don't see the negativity of the city," said Terry Nelson, manager of USA Sports and Awards, a trophy shop on Ringgold Road. "Anything they could do to modernize Ringgold Road would be positive, though."

GATEWAY PROJECT

The centerpiece of the rebranding process is a mammoth Gateway to Tennessee project at Exit 1 on Interstate 75. Over the next two years, city officials hope to build a veterans memorial flag plaza there. After that, they want to build a large waterfall and install welcome signs at the site.

The project will cost about $1 million, but officials say the effort is aimed at establishing the city as a destination.

"Gateways are an important component of attracting visitors to a community," said Bob Doak, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It will definitely complement what they already offer visitors."

A nice entryway is not all East Ridge officials plan.

"We're also going to be looking at redevelopment," said City Manager William Whitson. "There are a lot of older things that could come down and a lot of newer things that could go up."

The city hired Mr. Whitson in January, hoping he could drive the city's part of the revitalization effort. He's recently brought on a full-time grant coordinator to help pay for some of it.

But to make it all successful, East Ridge needs to get people in Chattanooga and other communities to at least think about the city as an option. City officials have reached out to get real estate agents to sell East Ridge to first-time home buyers as an affordable option.

"We try to sell East Ridge to people who are just getting started, single folks and people who are looking to downsize after retirement," said Doug Edrington, a Realtor with the Edrington Team.

Despite a sometimes-negative view of the city, home buyers usually are impressed by the value found in homes in East Ridge, he said.

"If East Ridge did a little to improve its curb appeal, that could be an even bigger help," said Mr. Edrington.

But officials agree their biggest hurdle is Ringgold Road, which Mr. Steele admitted has become blighted by years of lax zoning.

"We were always such a laid-back city," Mr. Steele said. Leaders didn't restrict certain businesses, and they even left the door open for undesirable businesses such as adult-oriented establishments, he said.

The council recently passed a 180-day moratorium on such enterprises so it could draft new rules regulating them.

Cleaning up Ringgold Road also involves enforcing codes already on the books. Officials are targeting abandoned buildings with overgrown grass and cast-off vehicles. For unsightly businesses already in town, Mr. Whitson said the city must wait until the business closes down or changes hands.

The results won't be instant, Mr. Whitson said.

"It's not going to change overnight, but we can do a better job of keeping things up," he said.