Do You Really Want More Apartments In Hixson? - And Response (2)

The community of Hixson may be defined by some as area code 37343. Some may use roads as boundary markers. To the north you have Boy Scout Road, south you have Ashland Terrace. To the west you have Crestview Drive and to the east you will run into the river.  But to truly define Hixson you need to look into the heart of the community.  

We have been cut in half by city annexation. Pitting neighbor against neighbor in a war of who pays double tax and who does not. During the recent city redistricting we were split right in half by our own representation. Drawing a line from the river across Big Ridge at Hidden Harbor and down just south enough to make sure District 2 gets the nice neighborhoods like Ramesgate and West Point.

Now Hixson faces one of the worst offenses I have seen in my life. Before I start let me say I don’t care about a creek or water runoff. With that out of the way it is with a clear conscious I say that the proposed development currently called the Chattanooga Village is a slap to the face of anyone who has ever called themselves a native of Hixson. There is no need for new apartment complexes in Hixson. In a recent post on the Village’s Facebook page the page administrator said, “There is a strong demand in class A apartments in Hixson. Recent apartment developments around the city have been very successful and Hixson has not benefited from having a share of this market to maintain and develop a healthy diversity of living options. There are 280 proposed class "A" apartments with a large portion consisting of two bedrooms.”  

Now I am not a rocket scientist, but I would say class “A” apartments would be upscale, high-end apartments. We have had these in Hixson before. They are located behind the Express Wok on Hixson Pike. You know across the street from the abandoned car wash. The page also said, “On TN 153 there are about 325 business locations with approximately 40 vacancies. The majority of these vacancies are in poorly designed locations and in some cases functionally obsolete structures. A large amount of older vacant retail space is not suitable for redevelopment as retail and other uses will likely be more appropriate for those locations. The Hixson North River community plan addressed this issue in great detail and states that one of the best ways to revitalize abandoned areas in the market is to develop commercial "nodes." 

The plan states that "nodes of higher density development…feed new life into suburban strips" which ultimately provide for long-term sustainability.” Now what they are referring to is a seven-year-old growth plan that has a 10-year shelf life. When they break ground the plan will be 11-years-old. What they are also saying is that by putting in more businesses in an area away from the vacant developed properties will help the old properties get business. Yes, I am confused also, however, lets forge through this.  

If we build Chattanooga Village we will be putting in upscale apartments that your rural community does not want nor does it need. We will be putting in new upscale businesses you will not shop at but it will make your “abandoned, poorly designed, and functionally obsolete structures” more usable.

Dear friends, neighbors and Hixson folks of all kind, please speak up and put a stop to this abomination. We have been ripped apart, we have been promised the moon. It never happens, the only difference is this is happening in the open right in our faces. We have almost 625,000 square feet of abandoned unused business space in Hixson. Do you really want more? The last apartment build is now low-income housing. Do you really want more apartments in Hixson?

Jamie Goebel 

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I have been a resident of Hixson for several years now. Apparently, at least according to the rather elitist attitude of Jamie Goebel, I am not welcome here. I live in an apartment complex, which seems to imply (based on the wording in that opinion piece) that I am most likely low-income and therefore unwanted.  

First, I want to agree with what Jamie said about the proposed "Chattanooga Village." I do not want this development built in my part of town, nor do I think it is something that is needed. There is a shopping center across the highway from this proposed "village" that sits half-finished. As far as I know, there are no plans in the near-future to continue building on the unused space there. It is, frankly, an eyesore in its current state. I can't imagine any retailer that would build in Chattanooga Village would pass on the chance to build next to solid anchors of Kohl's and Academy Sports, if that's their only other option. Lets fill that place up before we move forward. 

Now, as far as the disagreements. Well, first let me say that unlike Jamie, I do care about a creek and water runoff. North Chickamauga Creek runs to the Tennessee River. The Tennessee River is the water supply for a lot of our neighbors (though admittedly, to my knowledge, not Hixson residents). I'm not saying Chattanooga Village would ever produce an amount of runoff that would contaminate the water supply, but simply saying you "don't care" about a beautiful creek, the wildlife in and around it, and whether it gets polluted or not seems like an awful shortsighted attitude to have. I'm not someone who really identifies himself as a "greenie" (I vote Republican, I don't believe I'm legally able to), but caring a little about the environment isn't something to be ashamed of.  

Finally, the issue with apartments in Hixson. When I moved to the Chattanooga area a few years ago, I was fresh out of college and had very little savings. I couldn't afford to buy a house and didn't know where I would even want one. I knew little about Hamilton County. I heard Hixson was a nice area, so I found an apartment here. It's where I've been ever since. It's in the "heart" of Hixson. I'm minutes away from any store I need, and it's mostly convenient to my job downtown.  

Is my apartment "low-income?"  Well, $800 a month may seem like a low number to some, but it sure doesn't feel cheap to me. I've ran into a few bad apples in my complex, sure. But for the most part, everybody here is quiet, friendly when you speak to them, and seem to be decent people. I don't think I would banish anyone here to someplace outside the kingdom of Hixson. But maybe that's just me.  

I will soon be married (a good portion of what savings I have now is going towards the wedding), and soon after, I hope we can someday perhaps buy a house in Hixson. I like it here, and want to stay. Until then, however, we may have to continue apartment living for a while to save for an adequate down payment. Does Hixson need more apartments? I honestly have no idea how to even answer that question. If there are people that would want to live in them, I suppose the answer could be yes. Are there "bad" apartments? Sure. Just like there are "bad" houses, duplexes, etc. I've seen them all over Hixson. Should we try to run those people out, as well? I think not.  

Chattanooga Village is something it seems most of Hixson can unite against and say we don't want, for a myriad of reasons. But don't use it as a crutch to rant against people that you may seem to think are "undesirables." Hixson (and all of Hamilton County) is a great place, but I hope it never becomes a place that is only for people in a certain tax bracket.  

Christopher Holder
Hixson

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Growth for the sake of growth is the ideaology of the cancer cell." Edward Abbey said that. He was a man who spent a lifetime in our national parks, and wrote extensively on the topics of nature and preservation.

It's a very accurate observation. What are we doing at 153 and Boy Scout Road? The developers themselves have all but quoted Mr. Abbey verbatim - "Growth for the sake of growth."

There is absolutely no need, what-so-ever, for any of things they say will happen there. Several other area residents have already made the point of available empty space all over Hixson, so it's obvious that if there were a need - it should be be just as easy to renovate or tear down an old building and put something new in its place - rather than taking down an entire wooded hilltop.
These people (Horton and the Scenic Land folks, Mayor "it's gonna happen whether you like it or not" Littlefield, etc.) are interested in one thing only - money for their pockets.

What becomes of the hilltop, and everyone/everything surrounding it, when it becomes a half-finished eyesore waiting for business to move in? It took what felt like a lifetime for The Fountains (the closest development to the proposed site) to get two tenants - Academy and Kohl's. And most of that razed-down hilltop is still barren.

I, for one, am not going to be fooled by promises of economic boosts because it is painfully obvious to me that the same boost could be achieved through different actions.

Who considers a comparison to cancer a compliment? I'm starting to get the impression that those who support this project are just fine with it.

Beth Rogers

Lifelong resident of Middle Valley

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The mayor's push and the following of the City Council in a mad rush to allow another unchecked commercial development in Hixson is appalling.

I thought the agenda of Chattanooga was to be Earth friendly, to be a good steward of Mother Earth.

But all of this is pushed aside by the mayor and council so as to allow a hilltop to be removed to make way for a commercial development in an area plagued by vacant commercial buildings and empty lots.

Is there really a need for this development? It is ludicrous to think that building a new mall or multi use building will attract business. Yes, it may attract a brief increase in customer traffic, but in the end it will be but a flash in the pan and the new building will end up vacant, a victim of high over head costs of operating in a new structure. With the lower price of existing commercial property and a business cannot make it, then how are we to believe that raping the land to create a new commercial development will afford a business a chance to make it in the higher cost of a newly built structure?

Not only will a watershed be destroyed, but a wildlife refuge will be ruined, and most importantly and wonderful view shed will be removed.

We have heard of how visitors to our so called Scenic City have to pass through the eye sore of the abandoned industrial site previously occupied by foundries.

In the end there will be another scar on the land, 190 acres of land destroyed for an empty commercial development, soon decorated with gang tags and graffiti all in the name of progress, a false sense of increased tax revenue and a few transient construction jobs.

Is this the legacy the mayor wants to be remembered for?