Chattanooga Mayor Andy BerkeIn hopes of boosting the Scenic City's center core, Mayor Andy Berke on Thursday outlined how he has re-created a program to promote more affordable rental property downtown and commissioned a group to create a defined business district in which entrepreneurs and start-ups can grow.
To the Chamber of Commerce, Berke pointed to the potential revival of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with River City Co. as a way to promote affordable rental housing. Developers can get a 10-year tax break if they set aside 20 percent of their units at affordable rental rates.
Berke also explained how his six appointed task forces, known as Chattanooga Forward, have helped him crystallize community ideas that he hopes to enact. One such idea, he said, is that of an innovation district downtown -- a geographical area that includes businesses, public and private space to create new start-ups and expand existing businesses.
The six task forces have studied how to improve downtown, increase entertainment options, better capitalize on EPB's gigabit Internet speeds and more.
"We live in the innovation center," Berke said. "We need to make sure we take all of our assets and capitalize on them in the most aggressive way possible. So the innovation district is a place where new ideas are born."
River City President Kim White, who helps lead the mayor's downtown task force, said she has seen multiple ideas come from discussions that have been in the works for years but now are being carried out. That includes the idea for a shuttle from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to downtown, she said.
"It's one of those things we've been talking about for four to five years, but we're actually putting them down on paper," she said.
Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick at jlukachick@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.