The former Harriet Tubman Homes site in East Chattanooga, seen here from Missionary Ridge, was built in 1953.THE OFFERS FOR TUBMAN* Tadese Tewelde: $1.5 million, November 2012* Geoffrey Singer: $1 million, November 2012* Outpost Centers International: $4 million, January 2013* Bluestar Properties: $800,000, April 2013* Lakewood Realty: $2.85 million, May 2013* City of Chattanooga: $1 million, July 2013* Cassara Consulting: $2.9 million, October 2013TUBMAN TIMELINE1953: First phase of Harriett Tubman completed1963: Expansion grows size of complex2005: Chattanooga Housing Authority demolishes 10 buildings2011: CHA informs residents that they will be evicted and buildings will be sold, rather than pay $33 million repair billNovember 2012: Taddese Tewelde bids $1.5 million for complex; Geoffrey Singer bids $1 millionDecember 2012: Ed Rohn makes initial inquiry into TubmanJanuary 2013: Outpost Centers International bids $4 million for TubmanApril 2013: Mayor Andy Berke inaugurated; meets with CHA officials. Bluestar bids $800,000May 2013: Lakewood Realty makes blind bid of $2.85 million, having never been to the siteJune 2013: Five buyers have expressed interest in TubmanJuly 2013: Berke bids $1 million for TubmanAugust 2013: City Council approves $3 million for Berke to buy and demolish Tubman. Only Lakewood and Chattanooga remain as bidders.October 2013: Berke withdraws city’s Tubman offer, Lakewood awarded contract to purchase Tubman; Ed Rohn bids $2.9 millionNovember 2013: Lakewood and CHA sign 60-day extension to allow Lakewood to secure funding.December 2013: Barbara Szymanska, agent for Lakewood, leaves for Poland as CHA officials grow uneasyJanuary 2014: Lakewood unable to close on property; CHA board severs ties with Lakewood
Political delays, a confused vision and repeated inaction were behind a fruitless two-year attempt to sell the Harriet Tubman public housing complex, documents and interviews suggest.
The Chattanooga Housing Authority ignored the highest bids, required exhaustive documentation from some buyers but not others, and ultimately failed to sell the complex to any of the half-dozen interested parties, all while its executive director said publicly there were no solid offers.
CHA has left millions of dollars sitting on the table after spurning buyers ranging from a Florida ophthalmologist to a Seventh-day Adventist charity in Apison, while continuing to pay $300,000 per year to maintain the derelict site.
“There was too much discussion,” said Eddie Holmes, chairman of CHA’s board. “Here we are going into two years. It shouldn’t take that long.”