Dozens of federally subsidized units across two properties will be accepting applications from low-income residents this month in Chattanooga.
The Bailey Park Apartments, near the Highland Park neighborhood, will be taking applications in person for a handful of units Monday morning.
Bluestone Terrace, on Old Lee Highway near the U.S. Xpress headquarters, will start taking applications later this month.
Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise developed the 32-unit Bailey Park Apartments after securing a tax break agreement from the city in 2023. On top of that agreement, eight units were reserved as federal Section 8 housing through project-based vouchers administered by the Chattanooga Housing Authority.
Four of those units are one-bedrooms, and four are two-bedrooms.
The federal government’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, also called Section 8, is run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to usa.gov. The program gives those who qualify, such families with low incomes, older adults and those with disabilities, a voucher to help them afford safe, private housing, the website said.
To get on the waiting list for Bailey Park or Bluestone Terrace, prospective tenants must go to the Neighborhood Enterprise’s leasing office at 1728 Bailey Ave., on the corner of South Hawthorne, between 9 a.m. and noon Monday.
According to Robert Prichard, head of property and asset management at the nonprofit enterprise, there are 32 spots on the waiting list.
The Bluestone Terrace is a 64-unit apartment complex that started operating around the start of 2026. The first 24 units were occupied via referrals from the Housing Authority. There are 40 units available with project-based vouchers that low-income residents can apply for. The units are a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments.
Pre-applications can be picked up from the property at 7504 Old Lee Highway. The completed forms must be submitted in person at the property office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. from May 21 to June 1 to be accepted. Applications will not be taken before May 21.
To qualify for the federally subsidized units, households must be at or below 60% of the area median income.
For a single individual, that’s a salary of $40,150. For a family of five, that’s $61,900. The full income limit range is available on the city’s website.
Federally subsidized property is often made possible through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which ranges from covering about a third of a project’s costs to 70%. It is administered through state governments, in this case the Tennessee Housing Development Agency.
Chattanooga and Hamilton County have traditionally been disadvantaged by the state’s rubric for assigning tax credits, according to city officials and local developers.
Jake Ramsay, a developer for Bluestone Terrace, said he believes the property was the first in decades to obtain the highest federal credit available for new construction.
A new rubric, which puts the Chattanooga metro area on equal footing with Knoxville, was put in place during the most recent legislative session. The state typically releases its rankings of projects that have applied for the tax credit in late July or early August.
“I’m super happy that the state has updated their scoring so that we’re competitive,” Hanneke van Deursen, director of housing finance for the city, said via phone Friday. “It’s a really big deal, and we’ll see the impact for years to come.”
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Contact growth and development reporter Raymon Troncoso rtroncoso@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6317.