Three years after Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise acquired 42 acres of properties from the former Tennessee Temple University, the nonprofit development agency is launching a new marketing drive to promote Chattanooga’s historic Highland Park neighborhood.
CNE was chosen as one of 10 community development agencies to participate in a new national neighborhood marketing program funded by NeighborhoodWorks America, the federally-funded agency that promotes housing and neighborhood development across the country.
CNE will get $15,000 to work with residents in Highland Park and identify ways to promote and market the neighborhood to boost local pride and attract more interest and appeal to those looking to move into the neighborhood just east of downtown Chattanooga. An Atlanta consulting firm, APD Urban Planning and Management, will lead the study and marketing campaign.
CNE also recently got another $15,000 grant from NeighborhoodWorks to promote more environmental green initiatives from recycling to more sustainable building programs.
The grants are the first for CNE in more than three years and reflect the improved financial performance and quality standing for the 30-year-old housing agency. CNE was regarded as “vulnerable” for three years by NeighborhoodWorks and was not eligible to receive such grants with such a standing. Earlier this year, CNE was upgraded two notches to a strong financial standing, qualifying CNE again for federal grant funding.
CNE picked Highland Plaza three years ago as a site to acquire property for redevelopment, buying a number of parcels previously owned by Tennessee Temple University. The independent Christian college operated in Highland Park for nearly 70 years before merging and relocating this year to Piedmont International University in Winston-Salem, N.C.
CNE bought and demolished a former Tennessee Temple dorm at Bailey and Kirby Avenue. CNE spokeswoman Jennifer Holder said work on a new 45-unit apartment complex on the former dorm site should begin within the next few months.
CNE also recently completed construction of Chattanooga’s first “tiny home,” a 532-square-foot home on Willow Street that could anchor a new subdivision or sorts of tiny homes in Ridgedale near Highland Park. CNE is currently listing the tiny home for $80,00.
“As we continue with our efforts in Highland Park, we are working to build up the excitement around this neighborhood,” CNE President Martina Guilfoil said in a statement. “We are excited to be selected as a Neighborhood Marketing Program participant and look forward to the future of the neighborhood.”
The award expands a community stabilization effort by NeighborWorks America to support local collaborative efforts to develop marketing and branding campaigns that tell the story of communities like Highland Park.
“Highland Park residents have known for a long time that our neighborhood is a wonderful place to live,” said Matt Stevens, vice president of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association. “We are excited to more effectively share Highland Park’s beautiful distinctiveness to those who currently do not reside in Highland Park.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.