Hamilton County commissioners on Wednesday approved the purchase of about 19 acres at the former Cigna Corp. facility at 7555 Goodwin Road, which includes an almost 100,000-square-foot building that leaders plan to transform into a new school.
“I was quite impressed with the condition of the facility and the potential for it,” said Commissioner Steve Highlander, R-Ooltewah, who toured the building before the vote. “While we would like to build really large schools because they’re more efficient, that would be a large school, and it would meet an immediate need when we get it repaired.”
The county’s 18.6 acre purchase, which has been in the works for several months, is part of a larger 95-acre site that Empire Communities, a privately-owned homebuilding company, is buying from Cigna. It encompasses a circular parking area and a 98,562-square-foot, single-story building with an open floor plan.
Hamilton County Director of Facilities Justin Witt said the new school would have capacity for 750 students and would sit across the street from East Brainerd Elementary School, which is over capacity and has a headcount of about 1,000 students. Witt said officials have considered using the new site for students in kindergarten through second or third grades, which would free up space at East Brainerd Elementary and allow that facility to serve the remaining elementary grades.