LOAN USESDavid Johnson, president of Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise and Chattanooga Community Development Financial Institution, said Wednesday a $574,000 loan made to the Tennessee Multicultural Chamber of Commerce was to be used for three purposes:$500,000: To buy land$44,000: To pay interest on debt$30,000: To pay for demolition on land
Sherrie Gilchrist is the executive director of the Tennessee Multicultural Chamber of Commerce.The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday demanded the Tennessee Multicultural Chamber of Commerce say how and where the agency spent $545,000 in federal dollars on a Business Solutions Center that’s never been built.
And the holder of a separate $574,000 loan to the minority chamber said a decision could be made within days whether to foreclose on two of the chamber’s five properties on M.L. King Boulevard.
HUD spokesman Joe Phillips said the department is seeking documentation such as bills and invoices spelling out how the chamber spent the $545,000 grant it received in 2005 and 2006.
He said the Multicultural Chamber has 15 days to respond when it receives HUD’s letter of inquiry. He referred all other questions to the HUD Office of Inspector General, where a spokesman Wednesday said the office had no immediate comment.