Three weeks before Election Day and without approval from state authorities, the East Ridge City Council has announced a major development deal near Camp Jordan.
“We know we’re in the midst of an election and everyone is so sensitive about news,” Mayor Mike Steele said. “But that’s not why we’re doing this.”
The deal joins East Ridge and Wolftever Development on 58 acres adjacent to Interstate 75’s Exit 1 and located off Ringgold Road. The property currently is occupied by an America’s Best Value Inn, one of the city’s two fire halls and hundreds of trees.
Wolftever Development owner Matt Wood said he had no commitments from any businesses to locate on the property, but he intends to make it a retail hub. He mentioned fast-food chains, sit-down diners and a catch-all clothing chain, noting that a Costco operates across the state line, just down I-75.
“The traffic count here is more than anywhere in Hamilton County,” he said. “You can take that out of your bag to sell to businesses, and it works.”