After nearly 20 years of waiting, Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts might finally get a new home.
Hamilton County Schools is considering purchasing the 179,000-square-foot former Sears store at Northgate Mall in Hixson to renovate and remodel to house the school.
Recommendations for the future of CSLA will be included in a facilities update presented to the Hamilton County school board on Thursday, according to district officials.
The relocation would move the magnet liberal arts school about 10 miles from East Brainerd to Hixson’s retail hub, as well as expand it from a K-8 school to K-12.
The Sears building was once one of the anchor department stores of the Northgate Mall, until it closed in February 2018. The building is still owned by Sears Holding Co., which is now operating in bankruptcy. CBL Properties Inc, which owns most of Northgate Mall – but not the anchor sites – bought the former Sears building at Hamilton Place in 2017 but not the Northgate store.