The fast-growing Ooltewah-Collegedale area is gaining new retail and office space with the expansion of a center that will include a new veterinary and pet health provider.
“People like the area from a living standpoint,” said Boston Londis, a partner in developer White Oak Enterprises. “It’s well located. The indicators are that there will continue to be growth.”
Londis said in a phone interview that the developer’s White Oak Crossing retail and office center off U.S. Highway 64 will bring the first Pet Paradise to the Chattanooga area on more than an acre of land.
The Jacksonville, Florida-based company will offer comprehensive pet care at the location set to open in early 2024. Pet Paradise provides overnight boarding, a “resort-style” day camp, professional grooming and experienced veterinary care teams, according to the company.
Fernando Acosta-Rua, president and chief executive of Pet Paradise, cited the Chattanooga area’s growth and economy.
“Convenient, all-inclusive pet health care is the future of the pet care industry, and that is what Pet Paradise and NewDay Veterinary Care will provide local pet parents to help their pets live healthy, happy lives,” he said in a statement.
Also, Londis said that a new medical office building slated for completion in March at the center will include the dentist office of Brooks Pruehs of White Oak Dental, which is relocating and expanding.
Contributed rendering by White Oak Enterprises / A Pet Paradise location, shown in a rendering, will open a unit at White Oak Crossing in Collegedale. The retail and office center is expanding.“He’s wrapping up his build out,” Londis said about the 3,500-square-feet of space the dentist’s office is taking. “We’re real excited to have him there.”
He said talks and design work are ongoing with other medical and health tenants in that building, which has about 10,000-square-feet of uncommitted space.
In addition, White Oak Crossing is offering one remaining parcel for development for a building that will hold up to 24,000 square feet, Londis said. He said that phase is expected to provide medical office space in 2024.
Londis said structure will complete the development of the 10-acre parcel that was acquired from Hamilton County. The site originally was the location of Ooltewah Elementary School, he said.
Londis said the additions complement a mix of retail, grocery and other medical offices in the center. He estimated the center will hit from $15 million to $17 million when fully developed.
Low-cost grocer Aldi opened a new store to mark White Oak Crossing’s early phase more than six years ago.
Public officials last month pledged to craft up-to-date planning and zoning efforts tailored to different areas of Chattanooga and Hamilton County amid concerns over growth and traffic in the Ooltewah-Collegedale area.
“This isn’t about stopping growth or controlling growth,” County Commissioner Jeff Eversole, R-Ooltewah, said at a meeting of officials and citizens in January. “It’s about sensible growth.”
Dan Reuter, executive director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, said at the meeting that outside consultants are to be brought on to help his team update the area plans for different parts of the county. Such plans serve as a guide for growth for different communities in the city and county.
Reuter said the agency will work on a comprehensive plan for the unincorporated parts of the county.
“There are areas of Hamilton County that have never had any thoughtful planning on growth,” he said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.