Four years after establishing the Innovation District downtown, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke is offering a couple of under-utilized municipal buildings within the district for possible redevelopment for affordable housing and innovative office space.
Berke said two city buildings could be used to aid in the progress of the growing Innovation District, just as the city did five years ago by acquiring and then selling for private development the former TVA-owned Edney Building as the hub of the Innovation district.
A city building at the corner of King Street and 10th Street in Chattanooga, Tenn. This is one of the buildings that will be given up by the city of Chattanooga to help spur more development in the Innovation District. “We will begin working immediately on the proposal to use the buildings and lots owned by city government in service of a growing, inclusive Innovation District,” Berke said Thursday night in his State of the City address.
Berke said the City Hall Annex directly across from the historic Chattanooga City Hall now houses only the city’s IT and 311 agency, which Berke said could be housed nearly anywhere in the city, and the city attorney’s office, which could be relocated to another site.
One of the floors in the Annex building is no longer used at all by the city, but Berke said the 4-story building just a half block from the Edney Innovation District could be redeveloped. A newly released plan for the Innovation District recommends the addition of more modern office space and testing facilities, along with the development of more affordable housing for those working on startup ventures.