Officials of a Nashville development company said they plan to start work on a two-acre project at the U.S. Pipe/Wheland Foundry site later this year.
Core Development's Andrew Beard said if the city and county agree to build a $72 million stadium at the site then it will develop a full 11 acres. Total amount of the project would be $170 million.
Mr. Beard said the first phase includes 30 "stack flats" condominiums with from 700 to 1,000 square feet, 3,000 square feet of retail and 38 single-family townhomes.
The 11 acres is at Middle Street closer to St. Elmo.
Mr. Beard said one of the factors leading the company to the site was the presence of the Riverwalk, saying its project could be built around that major amenity.
He said the group was interested in cleaning up Chattanooga Creek, which runs nearby, and possibly using it for rafting and other activities. He said cleanup efforts have already begun.
Several council members expressed concern that the major development would displace nearby low income residents. Mr. Beard said his firm is not involved in affordable housing, but does collaborate with others who are.
City Councilwoman Raquetta Dotley, a strong proponent of the stadium plan, said she believes it will benefit nearby communities like St. Elmo, Alton Park and East Lake.
Officials told the City Council that the plan is to issue $17 million in taxable bonds to be covered by annual lease payments from the Lookouts of $1 million or more, as well as $63 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds to be issued by a new city-county Sports Authority.
The city and county would stand behind the Sports Authority bonds.
Brent Goldberg, the city's chief financial officer, said the amount required from the city and county directly to the project had been lowered from $1.5 million each to $1.4 million each. He said those amounts would not be due until a couple of years.
Mr. Goldberg said the new stadium would have no effect on Finley Stadium. He said UTC football and the CFC soccer team would remain there.
He said AT&T Field would be torn down with the land going to the RiverCity Company for redevelopment.
Jason Freier, Lookouts managing partner, said the stadium would be a community park that would be open for daily use. He said he envisioned a number of other event being held there, saying that has happened in similar fields at Fort Wayne, Ind., and Columbia, S.C.
McKittrick Simmons of Sweetwater Holdings said the investment group has been eyeing the old foundry property. He said it has invested $4 billion since it was launched in 2012.
Councilman Chip Henderson asked about the possibility of Core Development signing a memorandum agreeing to the full $170 million in development if the stadium is built.
He also called for the Lookouts to commit to keeping a team at the stadium through the 30-year life of the bonds. Mr. Freier said Major League Baseball has never dropped a franchise that has a stadium that meets standards.
Councilwoman Jenny Hill said she was concerned that the Southside development would "cannabalize the North Shore and damage Frazier Avenue." She said there had been talk of moving the Pops in the Park to the new stadium.
She said residents tell her they do not want to wind up with the traffic that Atlanta has or a Nashville "where there is nowhere to live if you don't have a ton of money."