Downtowns Enjoy Renewed Vitality
Published Feb 16, 2009
A glass bridge provides a stylistic connection between the Hunter Museum of American Art and Chattanooga’s revitalized downtown district.
Lee University is now the second-largest private university in Tennessee, second only to Vanderbilt. And the school remains an important part of downtown Cleveland, as it has been since 1918.
“We have a lot of historic buildings in downtown Cleveland that are on the National Register (of Historic Places), and our beautiful Lee University campus is always a place we like to show off,” Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland says. “Our downtown district is also home to Billy Graham Avenue, where the famed evangelist lived as a young man and got his call to the ministry.”
Downtowns are alive, well and getting better in this part of the southeastern United States, from the region’s hub city of Chattanooga to smaller cities elsewhere.
“In Cleveland’s case, I created a program two years ago called Vision 1000, which asked individuals and businesses to pledge $1,000 for three consecutive years to beautify downtown,” Rowland says. “At the end of 2008, we had raised $220,000 toward a goal of $250,000. That money has allowed us to tackle some nice projects.”
One of those projects involved tearing down an old dry cleaning building that was an eyesore in the middle of downtown and replacing it with a park.
“Cleveland is also planning some loft apartments as well as additional retail and office spaces,” Rowland says. “We also have a Main Street program in place that has attracted several commercial tenants.”
Five other communities in the Southeast Industrial Development Association region are certified Georgia Main Street communities.
River City Rejuvenation
Chattanooga’s ongoing efforts to make its downtown district more attractive include adding 260,000 square feet of space to the Warehouse Row shopping and dining complex located on Market Street.
In addition, a $12 million, 12-screen Carmike Theater is being built as part of a 100,000-square-foot, mixed-use development at Broad and Third streets downtown.
“The current Carmike project will replace a Carmike Bijou 7 theater that opened in 1996, with the new Carmike featuring the most modern stadium seating and digital projection,” says Paul Brock, president of the River City Co., a private, nonprofit company that works with local governments and businesses to spur economic development in downtown Chattanooga and along the riverfront. “The new theater will attract an estimated 375,000 to 400,000 attendees annually, compared to 125,000 that attended the Bijou in 2007.”
Also planned for downtown Chattanooga is a 12-story Hotel Indigo that is slated to go into the historic Maclellan Building, and a new Hampton Inn & Suites to be constructed across the street from the Carmike theater development.
“The downtown district will also soon be home to Walnut Commons, which will be 100 new apartments on Walnut Street,” Brock says. “Chattanooga has a lot of condos, but having apartments constructed expands the list of housing choices that people have for living downtown. Walnut Commons will add to the vitality of downtown Chattanooga, which is getting more vibrant all the time.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Ian Curcio
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