As the Chattanooga Design Studio’s coordinated study on downtown tactics reaches the halfway point, officials met Monday to list the findings or concepts the nonprofit and its partners have developed so far. now.
They included everything from the option to reuse at least one component of the TVA complex, to expanding tree canopies and other green infrastructure, to non-automotive traffic mobility, to further integrating UTC into the center of the city. city, expanding the number of residential areas and other mixed-use developments for a city. with some remote staff and expanding entertainment and cultural opportunities.
Other concepts presented, among others, included the need to correct imbalances in parking that involve many masses of surface parking and are added to impervious surfaces, as well as improve the reliability of public transportation throughout the city.
The hundred or so people who attended the event in the Chattanooga Public Library’s fourth meeting room also had a chance to say what ideas they liked as they ran around tables with attractive planners during the second part of the two-hour event. Officials hope to more officially compile and reveal those tips next month.
Next, he said, the Chattanooga Design Studio will work with local citizens and industry experts to produce what is called the Civic Center District Plan through the end of the year. It is expected to serve as a unified vision for the neighborhood, which is bordered by Fifth and 13th streets in one direction, and U. S. Street. 27 and Houston Street on the other.
The plan, which is also being carried out in collaboration with Sasaki, Tinker Ma and James Lima Planning Development corporations, will also include urban design recommendations for short- and long-term improvements.
Eric Myers, executive director of the Design Studio, said before the meeting that collection is vital for those who care about downtown Chattanooga.
“We’re here to get your feedback on what issues,” he said, “how you move, how you entertain yourself and how you see the future of this community meeting your needs. “
He also said the TVA complex, at least a portion of which is likely to be the site of a new federal courthouse through the General Services Administration, would possibly be worth preserving in some form.
“There are many concepts about how to reuse existing buildings,” he said. “There are a lot of beautiful bones in those buildings. They were very well built. They are made of forged concrete. They have a legacy within themselves. And TVA’s link with our region is strong.
Susannah Drake of global design firm Sasaki said she had the opportunity to make a stopover at the TVA complex and was also inspired through it, although some have called for its demolition.
“One of the most interesting reports I had was visiting the interior of TVA and seeing the resources they have, all those elements that were interesting and seeing the interior of this space.
Although he knows that Chattanooga does not operate in a “pure world” and that it could be difficult to maintain absolutely the entire complex with so many other needs in the center of the city, he added: “There are some wonderful things about this facility. . “
County Mayor Weston Wamp and Chattanooga City Chief of Staff Jermaine Freeman did not mention the TVA complex, but they approved the general platting procedure and paintings for the Civic Center District. County Mayor Wamp said the meeting was similar to the old Chattanooga Venture public plan meetings of the 1980s, which he recalled his grandmother attending, and a wonderful opportunity for Chattanooga to present a compelling public vision.
“These moments forge a network for the city, so thank you for being here,” he said, admitting he was “blown away” by the number of people who attended. “Your voice matters. “
He also said that in visualization sessions like these, infrequently, participants don’t think big enough. As someone interested in Chattanooga history, he said he learned that Charles James dreamed of riding the streetcar from his home near the Signal Mountain bluff to his workplace in a skyscraper he planned to build, and did so after building the James building, more than a century ago.
Creative strategist and local healer Erika Roberts asked the crowd what they would like to see in Chattanooga in 3 years, and one man joked that he would like to see a trolley going from Signal Mountain to downtown again.
In his speech, Freeman praised the paintings of recently deceased City Councilman Moses Freeman Jr. , to whom he said he was not related, and added of the vision plan: “We have a unique opportunity to take this city on a new trajectory “. to lean on those who have gone before us.
Ron Littlefield, who rose from Chattanooga Venture director in the 1980s to Chattanooga mayor, toasted and won warm applause at at least two events as a pioneer of such a plan-making process.
Other speakers who shared some of the proposals or conclusions before the participants divided into small teams were Siqi Zhu from Sasaki and Carey Danfey from James Lima.
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