Commissioner Randy FairbanksIf you go
The Hamilton County Commission votes on the Chestnut Flats PILOT on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
The Hamilton County Commission will decide next week whether it wants to join the Chattanooga City Council in giving a 17-year affordable housing tax break to a $20 million Southside apartment development.
The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) proposal calls for Elmington Capital Group of Nashville to build a 174-unit complex on a vacant, 3-acre lot located at 2108 Chestnut St. The development will offer a mixture of one- and two-bedroom spaces, each renting for $600-$750 a month.
“We’re confident that [Elmington] cannot do this project without the PILOT agreement,” Mayor Jim Coppinger told commissioners. “We’ve looked at this extensively with the finance team, and we’re very comfortable with that comment.”
Developer John Shepard assured commissioners Chestnut Flats could not happen without tax breaks from the county and city, even though the project also receives support through federal tax credits.