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Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press Bob Saylors talks about plans for the old Hixson Middle School building that the city of Chattanooga recently acquired.
The building sits unused, with broken windows and locked doors, on top of a hill.
The former Hixson Middle School, off Old Hixson Pike, has been shuttered since March 2009 when students moved into a new school.
The school and the land were transferred to the city earlier this year. Now the city is talking about what to do with the site.
During budget talks, city officials discussed tearing down some old buildings and putting Parks and Recreation staff at the facility, turning it into a community center.
But they decided to take some time to plan and accept public comments this year in anticipation of funding next year. The first of three planning meetings took place last week.
"We don't plan on putting any money into [it] this year," Parks and Recreation Director Larry Zehnder said.
Zehnder said the school, built in 1938, is 133,000 square feet and sits on about eight acres.
Bob Saylors, director of parks for Parks and Recreation, said the place is just too big as it stands.
"Our concern is we have to maintain what is left afterward and we don't want to bite off more than we can chew," he said.
Most of the building ultimately will be demolished and a lot of its parking lot removed, he said. That should leave enough area for an open park, he said.
Some public suggestions have ranged from an outdoor swimming pool to small nature trails to a skate park, he said.
Walking through the school this week, Saylors pointed out areas that still could be used. There is an auditorium with at least 200 seats, a new wing with classrooms and a dining area and kitchen. Those could be used for community theater, adult classes and community meetings, he said.
The crown jewel is the gymnasium, he said, which could be used almost immediately for basketball and volleyball.
"The gym is one of the better pieces of the pie," he said.
The school sits next to Vandergriff Park and several ballfields run by the Hixson Youth Association. Saylors said the city's idea is to combine the areas into a "community park."
But he said a lot will depend upon what the city can afford.
"We have to look at it from a standpoint of what is salvageable and what we can maintain," he said.
Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
What ever they do it will most likely mean another tax rate hike. That is all the city knows how to do....tax and spend...tax and spend. I question the reason for building a new school in the first place...other than another reason to spend more money. If they had maintained the buildings in the first place they should still be usable. Basically they build new schools because they have NOT been doing their job and maintaining the older facilities. Such a waste...of time, money (our money...I may add) and resources.
Sale the property to the highest bidder and get the cost off the city agenda. The city already owns too much real estate and too many businesses that generate no tax revenue.
Does anyone have a complete list of all city government owned real estate? Does anyone know how many businesses the city owns? Chattanooga is more a socialist city. Our elected elite fail to understand how inefficient government run operations are.
The city should own no real estate or businesses. The city should have zero employees other than the essential number of highly skilled and effective contract coordinatora. six would probably be more than sufficient. A model city in GA. has seen vastly improved service and reduced cost using this approach. We don't have a mayor or council member interested enough in doing either to pursue such an option.
Turn them into apartments.Thats what they have done in Ohio with some of the old school buildings, some for seniors and some for familes.
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