The long vacant portion of the 700 block of Market Street in downtown Chattanooga will come to life next week when construction begins on a 10-story apartment, parking garage and retail center on the site at 728 Market Street.
The long vacant portion of the 700 block of Market Street in downtown Chattanooga will come to life next week when construction begins on a 10-story apartment, parking garage and retail center on the site at 728 Market Street.
Next Tuesday at 2 p.m., a ground breaking ceremony is planned by officials from the River City Co., which is selling the vacant site, and representatives of The Simpson Organization, the developer of the $28 million project. Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger also will join in the festivities, which will mark the start of one of the largest downtown housing projects in Chattanooga history and the tallest new building to be added downtown in more than two decades.
The site was cleared of storefronts more than a decade ago, but previous plans for the site were never completed.
The new development will include 125 apartments along with retail and office space, filling a hole in downtown’s core.
“It’s a good start,” Boyd Simpson, chief executive of Atlanta-based The Simpson Organization, said when the project was announced earlier this year..
In July, Chattanooga’s Health, Educational and Housing Facility Board authorized property tax breaks for the 146,000-square-foot project as part of the city’s incentives for more downtown housing.