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Friday, October 30, 2026Oct 30

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Is Chattanooga falling behind on its growth forecast?

A "For rent" sign is seen in the window of the Downtown Mart shop on Market Street on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
A "For rent" sign is seen in the window of the Downtown Mart shop on Market Street on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. A "For rent" sign is seen in the window of the Downtown Mart shop on Market Street on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

For the first time in 10 years, I am struggling with lease up.

Chattanooga’s image is important business, and big money has been spent selling the Scenic City as a hot market to investors and business owners.

In the past three years, $1 billion dollars of private investment has flooded downtown.

The frenzied pace of development. The creation and national promotion of an Innovation District. The construction of a new $10.6 million Miller Park. Downtown remains central to the recited success story.

But a short walk down one of the city center’s main arteries might make one wonder if a bubble has burst.