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Officials give preview of Chattanooga’s Westside hub renovations

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Project manager Anthony Fears, back, looks on Sept. 23, 2025, as architect Reginald Ruff speaks during a tour of the James A. Henry building. Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Project manager Anthony Fears, back, looks on Sept. 23, 2025, as architect Reginald Ruff speaks during a tour of the James A. Henry building.

By Ellen Gerst September 23, 2025 6 min read

The renovation of a community hub at the center of Chattanooga’s Westside redevelopment is set to finish by the end of the year.

The project has a targeted completion date of Oct. 31, project managers said. But realistically, work may spill over past that deadline, said Betsy McCright, executive director of the Chattanooga Housing Authority.

The James A. Henry building, built as a school in the 1930s, has new drywall, bathrooms, lighting and doors.

Officials give preview of Chattanooga’s Westside hub renovations

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Architect Reginald Ruff stands in a classroom area Sept. 23, 2025, as he leads a tour of the James A. Henry building.

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / On Sept. 23, 2025, architect Reginald Ruff leads a tour of the James A. Henry building. — Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Architect Reginald Ruff stands in a classroom area Sept. 23, 2025, as he leads a tour of the James A. Henry building.

The first floor will hold Head Start classrooms and a new wing to house a health clinic, and the second will serve as a community center with space for meetings, youth programming and art.

An art gallery will welcome people into the space from an added entrance at the back of the building, said Reginald Ruff, the project’s architect. That tall, windowed entrance will face a large plaza flanked by two playgrounds, geared toward older and younger kids, Ruff said.