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Saturday, November 14, 2026Nov 14

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East Ridge retirement home announces plans to close, leaves residents scrambling to find housing

Staff photo by Olivia Ross / East Ridge Residence resident Shirley Seguin is seen outside of the facility on Tuesday.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / East Ridge Residence resident Shirley Seguin is seen outside of the facility on Tuesday.

The management of East Ridge Residence, an independent living facility for older adults owned by Utah developer Bob Martino, has announced the facility is closing and the remaining residents must be off the property by Oct. 15.

In 2021, Martino purchased the facility at 1417 N. Mack Smith Road, next to his planned $200 million Gateway development in East Ridge that includes the Red Wolves soccer stadium. The announcement of the closing was made Wednesday.

Erected in 1968 and renovated in 2017, the 137,663-square-foot building sits on 7.6 acres and has 144 units, according to property information from Loopnet.com and the Hamilton County property assessor.

Martino sought rezoning of the property in 2022 to allow for other development, although he said at the time he had no immediate plans to change the use of the independent living senior center.

“No one will be moved out,” Martino said in a 2022 interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press about East Ridge Residence. “It’s close to full.”