The Chattanooga Design Studio, a nonprofit planning agency that has led or assisted major downtown initiatives such as Westside Evolves and the South Broad District study, is establishing next steps after its last employee resigned earlier this year.
After a 60-day review period instituted by the board of directors, it was determined the studio would continue operating rather than close its doors. The studio is still contracted to work on the Montague Park plan — a proposed revamp of the city’s largest urban park containing sculpture fields and athletic programming from the Chattanooga Football Club Foundation — which was estimated in 2023 to cost between $80 million and $100 million.
“As Chattanooga reflects on more than 40 years of remarkable progress, thanks in part to the studio, we believe our community is at an important inflection point,” Mark McKnight, president of the Reflection Riding nature center and chair of the studio’s board, said in an emailed press release. “The studio remains a platform for bringing our community together around the Chattanooga way, conversations about design planning and the places that shape our shared quality of life.”
Without staff, it is unclear what work, if any, is being done on the Montague Park plan.