Removal of barge an opportunity to remodel 'front porch' of Chattanooga

The Southern Belle riverboat moves upstream on the Tennessee River in this view of the North Shore land where businessman Allen Casey's barge formerly was located
The Southern Belle riverboat moves upstream on the Tennessee River in this view of the North Shore land where businessman Allen Casey's barge formerly was located

Be careful and deliberate in what we do. Nothing but excellence on our front porch."

One of the biggest undeveloped parcels of riverfront land left in downtown Chattanooga may have been unlocked by the departure of businessman Allen Casey's rundown barge, officials say.

But the future use of the 11-acre tract that sits in a key spot across the Tennessee River from Ross's Landing, the city's so-called "front porch," should be carried out with care, they say.

Some 23 years ago this month, the Tennessee Aquarium opened and helped propel the rediscovery of the city's waterfront. Huge private and public investments have since turned the riverfront into a destination for locals and tourists and made developable waterfront land an increasing scarcity.

Last week's removal of Casey's barge, long a point of criticism for its derelict state, should make the land to which the vessel was moored easier to sell, said Jerrold Farinash, trustee in the Chattanooga developer's ongoing bankruptcy case.

About half of the 11-acre tract is owned by a Casey company. The other half is owned by Chattanooga businessman Jackson Wingfield, who last year made an offer on the land and the barge that was rejected.

Farinash sees the highest future value by combining those tracts with an adjacent industrial site containing propane storage tanks and a steel processing center.

"All three put together would be a fantastic developable area," he said. The site, which fronts Manufacturers Road, could extend from the One North Shore condominiums to the Olgiati Bridge.

Kim White, head of the nonprofit downtown redevelopment group River City Company, called for the kind of community planning process for which Chattanooga has become known where "people think big, dream big and plan big."

"There's an opportunity to do that instead of doing things helter-skelter," she said regarding the site.

Bob Doak, the Chattanooga Convention and Visitor's Bureau chief, said he respects private property rights, but he'd like to see something on the land that's attractive, entertaining and revenue-generating.

photo The Casey barge rounds Moccasin Bend on the Tennessee River late Thursday, April 30, 2015, near the base of Lookout Mountain, in this view from Interstate 24.

"We've built this city for ourselves, not for tourists," he said. "Our city looks the way it does because of our approach. We need to keep that tenet in mind. Be careful and deliberate in what we do. Nothing but excellence on our front porch."

Farinash said he should know fairly soon whether anyone local will make an offer that generates "what we want." Earlier, 5.3 acres were offered for sale for $5.95 million. The trustee also noted that the Casey company property is in litigation.

Still, White said she sees the chance for downtown to continue to add "multiple layers" of things to bring more people and retail to the central city and "maximize the potential for everything we have."

She cited a recent report outlining a chance to grow outdoor sports on the river and said the city could capitalize on that kind of recreation.

Doak said the potential of the 11-acre tract is "humongous."

"We have to ensure whatever is put there is carefully thought out and meets the highest standards," he said.

Casey, who developed the Chattanooga Choo Choo more than three decades ago, brought the barge to the city in 2009 to put in a floating restaurant and bar, but nothing was built and the vessel deteriorated over the years.

Farinash said he didn't think Casey's plan was properly vetted, noting an eatery would have had tremendous electrical and sewage demands. Even access from the land to the barge would have been difficult, he said.

Casey also had plans to build condominiums and a hotel on the land to which the barge was docked, but those plans failed to materialize. He and one of his companies filed for bankruptcy more than a year ago as he faced a civil trial related to a lawsuit brought by former investors.

After failed attempts to sell and remove the barge, Farinash was brought in the bankruptcy case on Feb. 25. The barge partially sank in March after it was sabotaged, he said, noting that ballast valves were turned on to intentionally let in water. Farinash filed a police report, but no arrests have been made.

"It slowed us down. It put us back two weeks," he said, adding the vessel was raised at "a tremendous cost."

Gulfstream Enterprises of Biloxi, Miss., was hired to remove the barge and did so last week after weeks of preparation and help from the city, TVA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a team coordinated by Chattanoogan Harry Phillips, Farinash said.

"It may have been the only [company] to have done it," he said.

Farinash said the barge is expected to be in Mobile Bay this weekend, where Gulfstream has said it will be sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef, or scrapped.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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