Despite a grand announcement this week, a deal to create a retail center near Camp Jordan is still only a germ of an idea, local and state officials say.
On Tuesday, three weeks before Election Day, the mayor and council of East Ridge approved a developer’s letter of intent to build a retail center on 58 acres at Exit 1 on Interstate 75.
But neither the city nor developer Matt Woods has contacted the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for required permits for altering aquatic resources or construction stormwater management.
“We have not received any permit applications related to the East Ridge property,” TDEC spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton said.
And the state Department of Transportation, which owns part of the property, hasn’t fully approved the deal.