A city board voted Wednesday to seek proposals from a developer to build a new parking structure on a city-owned parking lot at 1200 King St. - after members of a local watchdog group questioned the deal's transparency.
The Chattanooga Downtown Redevelopment Corp. Board passed the resolution, which said the King Street corridor "has significant economic development potential."
Chattanooga developers Hiren Desai and Jimmy White are interested in the city-owned parking lot and have said they're ready to build a parking structure there that could be used for their proposed redevelopment of the multi- story King Street Storage building at 1208 King St. The duo plan to let new businesses, including a microbrewery, lease space on the first floor and they may redevelop the upper floors into the upper floors into apartments.
Two leaders of Accountability for Taxpayer Money, Helen Burns Sharp and Franklin McCallie, raised questions about the proposed parking structure.
"Is there an anticipated role for taxpayers, who are already involved in garages at the Choo Choo [CARTA garage], The Chattanoogan hotel, the Trade Center and River Pier Landing?" Sharp asked in a prepared statement. "Is the King Street garage being contemplated as a public-private partnership?"
City officials didn't say. Assistant City Attorney Valerie Malueg explained that the request for proposals, which is due March 9, uses a boilerplate contract used for the sale of any city property. And if a sale is made, she said, details would be worked out between the buyer and the city's attorney's office.
City Council declared the property surplus so it could be sold for a higher and better use and put back on the tax rolls, said Mayor Andy Berke's chief of staff, Stacy Richardson, who serves on the CDRC board.
"We were approached by a number of [potential buyers]," Richardson said. "Parking is needed to unlock the economic potential of the King Street area."
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or on Twitter @meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.