Pete Palmer, Emily Mack and Michele Chandler
photo by Rachael Price
As River City Company president and CEO, Emily Mack leads a dynamic team dedicated to creating a more economically, socially, and culturally thriving downtown for all Chattanoogans and visitors alike, members of the Kiwanis Club were told.
River City is a non-profit, 501c3, private organization that works with local governments, philanthropy, private, and nonprofit sectors on the variety of projects Ms. Mack and her collective are cultivating.
River City Company initiatives range from real estate developments, to planning, and programming. The investments they expand onto Chattanooga’s greater area aim to stimulate the community’s economic and community growth.
Ms. Mack’s background includes previously residing as Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development with the City of Indianapolis. She oversaw the economic development incentive programs of the city, large scale re-development projects, and distribution of federal grants. She supervised all city land planning and land use, zoning, and historical preservation approvals, as well as several monumental planning initiatives. Ms. Mack currently serves on the Board of the Chattanooga Tourism Company, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Chamber’s Public Policy Committee, to name a few.
Priding themselves on being downtown Chattanooga’s economic development organization, River City Company has championed in over 87 completed projects since 2016, totaling over $1 billion investment in our downtown area, and over one million added or renovated square feet. This included adding almost 5,000 new housing developments to the area.
Proving succession in investment despite the pandemic and economic stress, Ms. Mack says, “The mission is to foster a vibrant and thriving downtown that is the economic, social, and cultural center of Chattanooga. Our vision to create and cultivate a world class downtown for all.”
River City Company utilizes an annual budget of $3.6 million, a “small but mighty” staff of 10, and an entirely self-funded operating budget. For specific programs and projects, they garter support from “incredible partnerships with our philanthropic, private, and public sectors,” says Ms. Mack.
Seventeen projects are currently under construction, totaling over $160 million in investments including public space projects such as Walnut Steet Plaza ($3 million), and Patton Parkway ($5 million).
River City Company partnered with Unum for a redevelopment plan regarding their surface parking lots. Three stages of developments include the new River Rock development, Vine Street Lots, and Walnut Hill area. Between these three developments alone, over 15 acres of downtown surface area parking lots that will be rejuvenated to allow for over 800 new downtown residents to reside.
A new data dashboard was launched to show demographics of economic housing, livability, and transportation for downtown and the greater Chattanooga area.
This dashboard provides key tools for both city and county policy makers, as well as city organizations, businesses, prospective developers, and financers. This development tracking feature is almost ready for public use to show all recently completed and planned residential and commercial projects.
Future redevelopments include repurposing Hawk Hill with a long-term plan, the One Riverfront Plan, and redevelopment of Broad Street.
One Riverfront Plan is a roadmap for the future of the Riverfront district that lacks amenities and structure. Existing conditions foster the imbalance of visitor and tourist activity in the area, and the plan calls for reactivation of Riverfront for all in the community. Putting community engagement first, River City Company spoke with over 2,300 residents to narrow down four aspirations and eight strategies to achieve their vision.
Aspirations to liven Riverfront include creating a place for all Chattanoogans, developing a greater sense of place, and strengthening activity to the riverfront.
Implementation approaches seek to improve the level of comfort and activity to the parks in Riverfront by adding shade, flexible seating, landscaping, and public art.
In addition to Riverfront district concerts and large events, they seek to add diverse and local programming to represent our communities, build inclusively via assortment of housing at a variety of income levels, as well as providing space for local and minority owned businesses to flourish. Desires for new restaurants, retail, and entertainment options were voiced, and One Riverfront seeks to activate the quieter corners of Riverfront.
The Tennessee Aquarium needs elevation - the plan includes building onto Broad Street and supporting more local businesses, as well as a “Get Your Feet Wet” addition to water accesses along Chattanooga’s Southshore.
One Riverfront comprehensive plan is complete and next implementation steps are being taken by calling for national, regional, and local designers to create premier public spaces that integrate technology, green infrastructure, accommodating parking, multimodal transportation enhancements and more. They seek to have a design team under contract by April 2023 to reimagine Broad Street after a block-by-block urban analysis and schematic design inquiry.
The four-step planning process is set to be complete by May of 2023, and includes an open house public design charrette Tuesday, Jan. 10, at the Tennessee Aquarium (time is TBD).
River City Company continues to seek the community for perspectives, ideas, influence, and hopes.
A simple, 5 question survey is now open to the public on their website at https://www.rivercitycompany.com. Community insight is crucial for projects that foster growth for Chattanooga, and involvement is encouraged by the company, Ms. Mack said.