This view of downtown Chattanooga from Stringer’s Ridge will be preserved with a land transfer from developer Jimmy Hudson to the Tennessee River Gorge Trust.Stringer’s Ridge is formally set for preservation.
The Tennessee River Gorge Trust has accepted 55 acres of property – the side of the ridge facing downtown Chattanooga – from developer Jimmy Hudson. The transaction was announced Friday.
“I think there are times when the opportunities are not measured by dollars,” said Hudson, whose prime land already had been zoned for development.
“We really saw the opportunity to donate it for what would be a better use for the entire community – a park and trails and green backdrop of downtown, a greenway.”
The trust already held a conservation easement for that acreage, along with 37 acres on the other side of the ridge. Hudson had sold the 37 acres to the Trust for Public Land, which in turn had donated its $2.5 million purchase to the city. A proposal was unveiled in November to connect the ridge park to the proposed “gateway” to Moccasin Bend park.