As a part of the continuing revitalization of Main Street, the RiverCity Company and the Highland Park Baptist Church announced Wednesday that RiverCity has bought the Union Gospel Mission property at the corner of Main and Market streets.

“After more than 25 years in these facilities, we felt that the revitalization taking place along Main Street offered a good opportunity for the Mission to find an updated property,” said Mike Parish, business administrator at Highland Park Baptist Church, which founded and oversees the Mission’s work.

"The Union Gospel Mission will continue to serve the homeless in Chattanooga, and we are pleased that we were able to sell the Main Street campus to the benefit of both the neighborhood and the Mission’s work."

As part of the purchase agreement, the mission will remain on the property rent-free for 12 months. “We greatly appreciate the work that the Mission does in feeding, clothing and giving shelter to people in need,” said Jeff Cannon, RiverCity construction manager. “We felt strongly that it was the right thing to give the mission plenty of time to find a new site for their good work.”

During this 12-month period, RiverCity will submit a Request for Proposals (RFP) for development of the parcel, which at one time included six buildings.

In keeping with RiverCity’s standards, a key consideration for RFPs will be the highest and best use of environmentally friendly “green” design and construction practices.

“The corner of Main and Market is arguably one of the most important sites for the revitalization of the area,” said Mr. Cannon. “The momentum is still building on Main Street, with the recent relocation of Niedlov’s Breadworks, upcoming announcements of new restaurants coming to the area, the housing initiatives going strong, and eight new pieces of public art already installed. These are all signs of a neighborhood growing not only in new and renovated buildings, but into a healthy sense of itself and its place as part of the greater urban fabric of Chattanooga.”

“The revitalization of historic Main Street helps neighboring areas that are working to improve their quality of life, benefiting people who have called Chattanooga home for years,” said Sarah Morgan, program officer for the Lyndhurst Foundation, which helped fund the purchase. “Main Street is quickly becoming a place where tourists and locals alike can taste Chattanooga culture at its finest.”

City officials said earlier that downtown missions that serve the homeless might relocate to the former Farmers Market that is now owned by the city.