Downtowns all over the country may be down, but no one should count them out, says Emily Mack, the new CEO of the nonprofit group dedicated to improving Chattanooga's city center.
"Certainly the coronavirus has impacted downtowns throughout the U.S.," says Mack, who joined River City Company in September after four years as director of the Department of Metropolitan Development for the City of Indianapolis.
"Downtowns throughout America have already experienced pandemics and wars and natural disasters and even terrorist attacks, and there are always these predictions that downtown is dead or this is going to be the end of downtowns," Mack says. "The reality is downtowns always win out - urbanism always wins out, and downtowns often emerge stronger and healthier than they were before."
Investing in qualities that underpin resilient downtowns is a key to growing in both difficult times and boom times, Mack says.
That means infill development on the dead zones of surface parking lots, creating a walkable, compact ecosystem that isn't car-dependent, and ensuring a wide variety of housing options at every price point, she says. Chattanooga has a lot of room to grow there, she says.
"There is market rate housing and then there is housing that serves some of our most vulnerable residents," Mack says, "However, I think there is a very large missing middle and when I think about downtown housing types, downtown should be a place that all Chattanoogans should want to and can afford to live."
Getting personal
Emily Mack spent the last 20 years in Indianapolis, but has family in Chattanooga. Mack’s sister, along with her husband and children, live here, and Mack’s parents plan to retire here soon. “It’s a really beautiful thing — this is first time we’ll all be together since I was in high school,” Mack says.Mack and her husband, Brian, have three rescued Basset hounds: Johnny Cash, Doug and Dixie.“I fostered Doug and Dixie for a month, and I failed,” she says. “This is my third time fostering, and every time I have failed.”
In the past four years, there has been more than $1.1 billion of new or planned investments announced in downtown. An early 2020 focus on revitalizing the riverfront through the One Riverfront project has been stalled by the pandemic, but the team is ready to move forward, Mack says.
The 21st Century Riverfront development was visionary 20 years ago, but it's time to revisit that area and make it a more appealing destination for everyone, she says.
"Today, when we really think about having a riverfront for all Chattanoogans to enjoy, the riverfront doesn't necessarily allow for some of the events and activities and the types of recreation we might want today," she says. "Downtown is the economic and social and cultural nucleus of the city - it is the heart of the city, and I think there's still tremendous opportunity to grow and to advance and transform downtown."