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This is a rendering for the proposed $40 million apartment complex called The Reserve at Mountain Pass.Property values in Alton Park could soon increase, but existing residents are concerned about what that will mean for them.
A Kentucky corporation wants to build a $40 million apartment complex at the old Frank H. Trotter School site.
Councilman Chris Anderson, who represents the area, is thrilled about the potential investment for the community, but others worry about the effect it could have on those already living there.
"Commercial development is never going to come [to Alton Park] until there is more residential density," Anderson said. "So adding 260 homes will make it a lot easier to get a bank or a grocery store."
Scott Brian, director of LDG Development LLC, which is seeking to build the 264-unit apartment complex on the 4900 block of Central Avenue, said the developer's sites usually increase the value of the surrounding neighborhood - precisely what has some homeowners worried.
"You've got a lot of retirees out here, and if the property tax goes up they ain't going to be able to make it because they're on a fixed income. So they are going to be forced out," said Gil Shropshire, president of the Alton Park Piney Woods Neighborhood Association.
The median household income in Alton Park is $24,328, according to citydata.com. The median rent is $344.
The development company said it is targeting people who earn $26,000 to $36,000 a year and rents are projected to range from $730 to $830 a month.
The site, called Reserve at Mountain Pass, would include two- and three-bedroom apartments in a gated community complete with a 24/7 fitness center, a clubhouse, full-time maintenance on-site and a swimming pool.
If it moves forward, it would be the first development on the 13-acre site since the school closed in the 1980s.
The situation is a catch-22, said Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Diversity and Inclusion Maria Noel. Though there are still many components that area residents need to discuss further with developers, the opportunity is not one that has often come to the area, and is worth considering, she said.
Representatives of LDG Development met with Alton Park residents a few weeks ago to share their plans and get feedback.
Several homeowners spoke. Others worried about the environmental impact of building on a site so close to the former Velsicol Chemical Co., a brownfield site. One resident said chemicals from Velsicol, which was shut down in 2007, could have contaminated the soil at the former Trotter school site.
Brian said he would look at past soil studies and consider doing further studies - one of which will ensure that a market exists before the development is built.
"We don't know if this is going to go," he said. "We're just asking this community to let us move forward and make this investment."
Longtime Alton Park resident and advocate Rosemary Porter was among several people who sat quietly during the meeting but later said they hope the development comes.
"See, it's something coming this way," she said. "The [Tennessee] Riverwalk, housing development is coming to Alton Park. They're building up all of Chattanooga. Why not build in Alton Park?"
Email Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com.