In a first step in the makeover of Hawk Hill in downtown Chattanooga, developers locally and nationally are expected to be asked to express their interest in plans for a new neighborhood overlooking the city’s riverfront.
“This is testing the market,” Emily Mack, chief executive of the nonprofit downtown redevelopment group River City Co., said Wednesday.
The 14-acre tract bounded by Riverfront Parkway, Power Alley and U.S. Highway 27 includes the current Chattanooga Lookouts ballpark, two adjacent parking lots owned by River City and potentially a lot belonging to a city panel.
A proposed request of interest from developers is expected to be sent out early this year, Mack said. It’s to be followed by a request for proposals for the Hawk Hill tract, she said.
The aim is to “really attract the highest and best and most transformative development,” Mack said.