A group of architects on Tuesday proposed sweeping changes for the Vine Street corridor between Georgia Avenue and Douglas Street.
Students currently use the term “dead zone” to refer to the vast expanse of parking lot blacktop on the street’s north side.
But urban designers unveiled a $60 million plan to convert the urban desert into what they hope will be an outdoor living room, populated chiefly by pedestrians instead of the occasional passing car.
The fifth in a series of Urban Design Challenges events sponsored by nonprofit developer River City Co., the presentation at Central Church of Christ focused primarily on connecting the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to Market Street.
“We’re hoping to establish a connection that for a long time has frankly been disappointing,” said Matt Greenwell, an art teacher at UTC.