Staff Photo by Harrison Keely/Chattanooga Times Free Press Elliott Yates prepares stovetops in Whirlpool’s factory in Cleveland, Tenn.CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The oldest part of town may be the subject of some new thinking in 2011.
Whirlpool’s move to Benton Pike opens several city blocks of core Cleveland to future possibilities. Several Whirlpool blocks, between Wildwood and King Edward avenues, fit into one of three areas identified in a strategic plan for 2035 completed this month, said Greg Thomas, Cleveland community development coordinator.
“It gave us a kind of to-do list,” Thomas said.
The three areas are north of Cleveland from Mouse Creek to Lauderdale Memorial Highway; APD 40 south to McDonald and the downtown core.
“One of my concerns is that the 2035 study shows we will grow about the size of another Cleveland in population by that time,” Vice Mayor Avery Johnson said during a recent city and county meeting.
The list recommends a comprehensive follow-up study to refine the more generalized report consultants released last week.
The 2035 report suggests channeling 45 percent of future population growth downtown and 55 percent into the county.
The Cleveland City Council agreed to seek a grant to fund the comprehensive second study of all three areas. The council agreed to split a local match of no more than $125,000 with the county.
The County Commission on Monday referred the idea to its finance committee.
Thomas said the city already has applied for another federal grant to plan for brownfield development in the downtown core. A brownfield is an abandoned industrial or commercial site that may have environmental contamination but can be redeveloped.
“We need to know what’s there now. What upgrades need to be done,” Thomas said. “As a community, we need to consider what we want to happen. There will have to be a whole lot of engagement with business and community leaders and the public.”
He said the city should learn in the spring if it will get the brownfield grant.
Contact staff writer Randall Higgins at rhiggins@timesfree press.com or 423-314-1029.