A former Tennessee Temple University dormitory could soon be replaced by a new $4 million apartment complex as part of an effort by Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise and local foundations to offer more housing options in Highland Park.
CNE, which purchased 34 vacated properties in the Highland Park and Ridgedale neighborhoods last year with the help of the Lyndhurst and Benwood foundations, contends that the proposed 45-unit apartment complex would remove a blighted eyesore from the neighborhood and help revitalize a key property abandoned by Tennessee Temple a decade ago.
"This should help clean up this area and provide a very desirable place to live," said Martina Guilfoil, president and CEO of Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise. "We think this will be a good catalyst to help the neighborhood."
Guilfoil said the apartments and other smaller single-family homes CNE hopes to facilitate being built by private home builders will provide the neighborhood with a mix of single-family and urban multi-family structures for rent and sale.
What's next
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission next month will consider a zoning change from CNE to rezone property at Bailey Avenue and South Hawthorne Street from a multi-family zoning (R-3) to an urban general commercial (UGC) zone. The planning commission hearing is at 1 p.m. April 13 at the Hamilton County Courthouse. The Chattanooga City Council will consider the proposal in May.
Vacant Tennessee Temple dorms at South Hawthorne Street and Union Avenue.Read more
* CNE buys Tennessee Temple lots for affordable housing as neighbors question piecemeal approach * Tennessee Temple's neighbors want old dorms razed * Tennessee Temple University puts Highland Park campus on market * Tennessee Temple lists its property to sell at $19.6 million
An Elemi Architects artist's rendering of proposed Highland Park apartments.But some neighbors to the project don't like the idea of new lower-rent apartments being built in an historic neighborhood.
"We want to live in a residential single family dwelling neighborhood keeping the historical character of the oldest neighborhood in Chattanooga intact," said Marty Mauldin, president of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association who lives across the street from the proposed apartments. "As we and our neighbors sit on our front porches, we will be looking at a parking lot and the back of an apartment complex. Not what we signed up for in this gorgeous quaint historical neighborhood."
Mauldin and her husband, Glenn, bought their home in 2005 and and renovated their home "to be part of an old historical neighborhood with sidewalks and much Chattanooga history."
But the cutbacks and planned relocation of Tennessee Temple out of Highland Park have left many Highland Park and Ridgedale properties vacant and blighted. The dorm building at South Hawthorne Street and Union Avenue was vacated by the university a decade ago and Tennessee Temple allowed pipes and other salvageable materials in the dorm to be removed to help raise money for the school.
The piping removal exposed asbestos in the former dorm, which is projected to cost up to $500,000 to clean up.
Lyndhurst and Benwood provided funds for CNE to buy 34 vacant properties last year for $330,000, and the foundations have agreed to pay for the environmental cleanup of the sites.
Mauldin said neighbors appreciate the foundation support but worry about problems from more multi-family housing projects in the neighborhood.
But others in the neighborhood welcome the CNE project.
"There are always things that need to ironed out and worked on, but all in all, this will greatly improve our community, increase property values, and further solidify this as a great place to work, live and do commerce in," said Matt Stevens, vice president of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association. "We are very happy to see CNE, Benwood, Lyndhurst, and other great partners helping to improve our Highland Park."
CNE said the apartments are the first phase in a cohesive plan developed after community surveys and meetings. Another round of community meetings is planned by CNE in Ridgedale.
CNE will ask city planners next month to rezone the site along South Hawthorne Street between Bailey and Union avenues for the new apartment complex. If CNE is able to finalize a loan agreement for the project, Guilfoil said the proposed apartments will include 12 units dedicated to low-income workers with monthly rental rates of $520 for 650 square feet. Other larger units will rent for around $850 a month, Guilfoil said.
CNE also wants to convert six residential lots into eight smaller lots to allow private developers to build single-family homes between 800 and 1,100 square feet each.
"We want to keep them small to keep them affordable," Guilfoil said. "We think this provides housing that is affordable for workers and will help this area."
Highland Park is within biking distance of downtown but the rental rates in the new units will be below most of the rates being charged in the central city.
The new apartments in Highland Park, if built, will be the biggest new building project for CNE in years. The project follows a financial turnaround for the 29-year-old nonprofit agency, which was created to help revitalize Chattanooga neighborhoods.
In January, NeighborWorks America upgraded its rating of CNE by two notches from "vulnerable" to "strong." The improvement should help CNE quality for more NeighborWorks investments and allow the agency to borrow money at more attractive rates.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.