Derelict barge on Chattanooga riverfront may be gone by Riverbend Festival

photo A former restaurant barge, purchased by Allen Casey and docked at his property on the North Shore of the Tennessee River for several years, is seen from the Olgiati Bridge.

A rundown barge moored on Chattanooga's downtown waterfront might be removed by the time of next month's Riverbend Festival.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge today approved a plan to put the dilapidated vessel docked across from Ross's Landing up for sale.

Judge Shelley Rucker said the proceeds from the sale of the barge, for which a $50,000 minimum bid was set, are to go into an escrow account. The funds will be dispersed later after the ownership issue is sorted out in the bankruptcy cases of Chattanooga businessman Allen Casey and his company, River City Resort.

Casey attorney David Fulton said they want the barge removed from its current riverfront location by the time the festival starts on June 6.

Casey had the barge floated to Chattanooga from Pittsburgh in 2009. Nothing was built on the barge that is docked next to an 11-acre tract.

The developer of the Chattanooga Choo Choo more than three decades ago had plans to put condominiums and a hotel on the land.

See more in Friday's Times Free Press.

Upcoming Events