In what an official said is a first for Chattanooga, the city is looking at buying a hotel on Lee Highway and potentially turning it into apartments for low-income people.
The Airport Inn at 7725 Lee Highway would be bought for an amount not to exceed $2.79 million, according to a proposal. Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief measure passed by Congress earlier this year, would finance the purchase.
Joda Thongnopnua, interim chief of staff for Mayor Tim Kelly, said that while the hotel has 74 rooms, it likely would be reconfigured into some kind of housing product for low-income people.
“It’s difficult to get the market to provide something affordable and accessible for them,” he said.
Thongnopnua said whether the site would be transitional housing or offer some other residential use is uncertain at this point.