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Development, aid sought to spur new plan for Chattanooga’s Westside

Staff photo by Olivia Ross / The historic former James A. Henry School and Shelia Jennings Park are planned to undergo renovations through a concept called Westside Community Evolves. The project hopes to revitalize the area to better serve the community.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / The historic former James A. Henry School and Shelia Jennings Park are planned to undergo renovations through a concept called Westside Community Evolves. The project hopes to revitalize the area to better serve the community. Staff photo by Olivia Ross / The historic former James A. Henry School and Shelia Jennings Park are planned to undergo renovations through a concept called Westside Community Evolves. The project hopes to revitalize the area to better serve the community.

By Dave Flessner 8 min read

Amid the new million-dollar riverfront condos being added at Cameron Harbor and the $160 million Novonix battery equipment plant and new medical offices taking shape at The Bend, Chattanooga’s oldest and biggest public housing complex is nearing the end of its useful life.

The 497-unit College Hill Courts opened in 1940.

“In all honesty, it’s impossible for us to keep it going long into the future,” Betsy McCright, executive director of the Chattanooga Housing Authority, said in an editorial board meeting with the Times Free Press.

Nearby, the authority’s Gateway Towers, while far newer having been built in 1977, suffers from microcracking in the envelope of the building that serves to insulate the interior from the exterior, forcing 23 of the 132 units to be deemed uninhabitable because of safety concerns.

The authority estimated years ago it would cost at least $60 million to repair College Hill Courts, and the price tag for rehabilitation has likely risen since.