Chattanooga will apply for a federal grant of up to $17.5 million that could enable officials to expand the scope of a pedestrian accessway that will tie the Tennessee Riverwalk into an underserved part of the city.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is distributing $1.5 billion worth of funding this year through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program.
The Chattanooga City Council authorized the grant application during the panel's regular meeting Tuesday. In addition to the $17.5 million in federal funding, there would be a local match of $3.5 million. Awarded funds would have to be spent by Sept. 30, 2032. The Trust for Public Land is covering the cost of putting together Chattanooga's application.
"It's all hands on deck to get the Alton Park Connector done," Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors Administrator Scott Martin said in a phone call. "With the RAISE grant cycle coming through, it's just too good of an opportunity to pass up to not apply."
Using a 1.3-mile stretch donated by the Trust for Public Land, the Alton Park Connector project involves converting a former CSX rail line into a shared-use path that would allow residents to walk and bike to nearby shops, jobs and the Tennessee Riverwalk. It will link Southside Community Park with the Tennessee Riverwalk trailhead at Middle Street.
Documents
The Alton Park Connector is being constructed in three phases. Kirsten Yates, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly's senior adviser for communications, said in a text that phase one, from St. Elmo Avenue to Broad Street, is about to be put out for bid by the city. Phase two, from Broad Street to Delong Street, has been started by a private developer, and phase three, from Delong Street to East 37th Street, would be covered by the federal grant, she said.
If the city doesn't receive the grant, officials would fund the third phase of the project using a special tax district created to finance construction of a multiuse stadium for the Chattanooga Lookouts on the former U.S. Pipe/Wheland Foundry site.
A sports authority with members appointed by the city and county is preparing to issue about $80 million in bonds for the Lookouts stadium project, more than half of which would be paid down using new property tax revenue created in the district. If the city receives the grant, Yates said, the tax district funding reserved for the Alton Park Connector could be used to pay down the debt on the Lookouts stadium bonds faster.
Officials also hope the infrastructure grant will let them extend the shared-use trail over Chattanooga Creek to Crabtree Farms, stretching beyond the current scope of the project and the initial donation made by the Trust for Public Land.
Martin said the Alton Park Connector has long been one of the city's top greenway projects, and officials are seeking every grant dollar possible to complete the development.
"It's knitting together the Alton Park community, and if we're lucky, even across Chattanooga Creek towards Rossville Boulevard and connecting those communities for the first time to the Tennessee Riverwalk," Martin said.
Martin said the city still faces challenges with systemic poverty and serving under-invested neighborhoods that haven't benefited from access to public spaces. While the 2017 opening of Southside Community Park in the Alton Park neighborhood was a step in the right direction, he said, the city's not stopping there.
The work is akin to the development of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway, which Martin said linked the Tennessee Riverwalk with the Brainerd area.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga City Council approves Southside stadium project)
"This would do the same with the southern end of our city," he said.
Noel Durant, the Tennessee state director for the Trust for Public Land, said in a phone call that creating access across Chattanooga Creek and to Crabtree Farms would be critical for that area.
"It's just not a safe pedestrian or cycling corridor, so this creates a really vital east-west link," Durant said. "Ultimately, we're supporting the city of Chattanooga in a vision to connect all the way to East Lake Park."
In an interview Tuesday, Councilwoman Raquetta Dotley, of East Lake, said she is writing a letter of support for the project with the South Chattanooga Community Association.
She reiterated that receiving the RAISE grant would help the city finish the stretch of the Alton Park Connector to Southside Community Park and start the connection to Crabtree Farms. Overall, it would reduce the amount the city has to allocate for the project, she said, noting that funding from the Lookouts stadium's special tax district would take a while to accumulate.
"Through this we're able to expedite the process, have a cost savings for the city, and the community is finally getting something that they've asked for for a long time," Dotley said. "So it's all around a win-win."
In 2022, the city announced that it received a $25 million RAISE grant to replace the Wilcox Boulevard Bridge, a 70-year-old structure officials have said can no longer support large emergency vehicles or semi-trucks.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.