We are fortunate to live in a city experiencing significant economic growth. From VW’s recent expansion announcement to Coca Cola Bottling’s decision to redevelop the former Olan Mills property in the Shepherd community, Chattanooga is beginning to see a renaissance in job creation that could mirror the redevelopment renaissance we experienced in downtown.
As an economic development professional, I have been fortunate to work in many cities and regions that have experienced tremendous economic expansion, but I can honestly say that Chattanooga is positioned to be a national leader in economic growth over the next decade. This is in large part due to the historic commitment of our city and county mayors to invest in Chattanooga and Hamilton County – oftentimes at significant political risk as witnessed with projects like the redevelopment of Enterprise South Industrial Park.
If Chattanooga is truly going to take advantage of the tremendous redevelopment and economic legacies that we have been blessed with, we must continue to invest in ourselves. However this investment should look at both opportunities for large scale enterprises as well as small business growth. Small businesses make up a huge portion of our employment base and new business formation is a critical component to returning Chattanooga to our entrepreneurial roots that brought us small companies that later turned to major employers. After all, Coca Cola Bottling, Chattem and Unum were once small businesses.
Mayor Berke’s new Growing Small Business initiative represents a new opportunity for Chattanooga to invest not just in small businesses but in ourselves. This program creates an opportunity to show our entrepreneurs and small business owners that Chattanooga is serious about small business and the critical role they play in our local economy.
Charles Wood, CEcD
Vice President - Economic Development
Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce