Developer Says CARTA To Lease 75 Parking Spaces At Renaissance Park Lot For New $14 Million Apartments

  • Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Site of apartment project
Site of apartment project

A member of the Vision Hospitality Group said Tuesday that CARTA plans to lease 75 spaces at the public parking lot by Renaissance Park for its planned $14 million apartment complex.

Drew Hibbard, vice president of finance and investments, told members of the North Chattanooga Council of the Chamber of Commerce that it will be under a 50-year lease with the transit group that now oversees parking for the city.

He said apartment tenants will get hang tags for use in the lot and the spaces will be "first come, first serve."

Mr. Hibbard said that lot is normally 50-55 percent full. He said there are times, such as festivals, when it is packed, but he said, "The vast majority of time the lots are under served."

He said it was found to be cost prohibitive to dig down at the site for an underground garage, especially, he said, since the site was formerly an enamel facility.

The North Shore Apartments will provide 26 parking spaces onsite, though there will be 84 units and almost 14,000 square feet of retail space.

Garnet Chapin, president of the Northside/Cherokee Neighborhood Association, said after the meeting, "I personally don't think that the developer is providing enough parking for all the different uses he has included.

"I don't think it is necessary that the apartments lease all of the public parking from CARTA."

CARTA official Brent Carter said, "We are still working through the lease. We have done car counts for a couple of months and we are comfortable with the agreement. We have 174 spaces in the Renaissance Lot and 58 in the lower lot for their use. 

"Shared parking is going to be a term you hear a lot as we go forward with more and more downtown development. Parking is going to have to be multi-use. It will be available throughout the day for employees and visitors and the tenants and apartments will use it at night. It was talked about in the Desman Study that was done in 2004 and also in the Form Based Codes that the RPA has been working on. This concept is used in many other cities with a lot of downtown housing and developments."

Mr. Hibbard said the developer "is not required to provide any parking." But he said, "This is not New York City and we can't put in an apartment with no parking."

He told the group, "The parking issue is hands down the toughest issue with the project."

He said several developers would like to develop the site for apartments, but he said his group "has a vested interest in trying to do the best job we can on that site."

Mr. Hibbard said he expects the apartments will be fully leased when the apartments open, though rents will be up to $1,625 for the four two-bedroom units. It will be from $925 to $975 for 40 studio units. There will also be 40 one-bedroom units in the five-story building.

He said there will be three retail areas, including at the street corner by the lobby, near the Bridgeview complex and in a wing in the direction of the park.

 

Speaker Drew Hibbard
Speaker Drew Hibbard
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