NASHVILLE — Tennessee State Building Commission members Thursday gave the go-ahead for the Lee administration to proceed with planning a $260 million project to replace the existing psychiatric hospital on Chattanooga’s history-rich Moccasin Bend with a new facility.
But in a move that surprised opponents of the proposed Moccasin Bend Mental Institute replacement now worried about potential damage to Native American artifacts, state Mental Health and Substance Abuse Commissioner Marie Williams announced during her presentation the state will first have an archeological survey done on the site, which is within the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District.
“We will conduct an archeological exploratory survey prior to any final decision on this site,” Williams told commission members. “If the survey is acceptable, then we will proceed with the razing of the Winston Building and construct the replacement hospital and parking garage on that site.”
(READ MORE: State proposes rebuild of Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute)
The district is a unit of the National Park Service. Native American sites, a historic road trace used during the Cherokee removal and a collection of Civil War earthworks have all been found in the area. Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and others have advocated for the hospital to be relocated to an area off Moccasin Bend, with much of the discussion about building a new psychiatric facility on the Erlanger Health campus.