John Shearer: Hixson Greenway Farm Conference Center Dedicated Amid Nods To History

With a salute to rural Tennessee architecture as well as a tribute to the past work of former City Councilman Dave Crockett in helping get the land preserved years ago as a park, the Greenway Farm Conference Center in Hixson was dedicated Thursday evening.
 
And plenty of praises were also given for current District 3 City Councilman Ken Smith, who had admittedly made getting the structure built a point of emphasis in recent years.
 
“Ken Smith had the vision for this structure and pushed it over the finish line through dogged persistence over the years,” said Scott Martin, who began serving as administrator of the Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors department earlier this year.
 
Mr. Martin’s remarks came during a brief program at the new facility as it was informally unveiled with a two-hour open house and reception featuring hors-d’oeuvres catered by Lakeshore Grille. The program had originally been scheduled for the previous Thursday but was postponed due to the weather forecast.
 
Approximately 40-50 people -- including State Senator Bo Watson, members of the Hefferlin + Kronenberg Architects firm and city Public Works officials – attended.
 
The building was part of a roughly $1.58 million project that included removing the asbestos from and tearing down the structurally unsound mid-century home and later meeting facility built by former property owner Dr. Benton Spangler.
 
The new structure was mostly completed several weeks ago, but had sat idle while the finishing touches were completed. 
 
Administrator Martin said the finished product looks nice. “This is craftsmanship,” he said. “This is not something you go to Walmart and get. This is not a spec building. This is an intentionally designed space.”
 
Councilman Smith said he had spent several years getting and encouraging the Council to set aside money for the project, and he considers it a unique event structure. “This is the only building in the city of Chattanooga of its kind that you can look outside and see nothing but beautiful landscapes and parks, and kids playing in fields,” said the councilman, who was also recently appointed to a vacant County Commission seat and plans to vacate his City Council post.
 
“It’s truly remarkable what we were able to do and transform this space.”
 
The design team included March Adams & Associates and the Hefferlin + Kronenberg firm, and lead project architect Jordan Bailey of Hefferlin said a lot of thought went into the planning.
 
“The main purpose of the space was an event center that took advantage of the views of the park and the outdoor spaces and that could house a lot of people but also open up to the adjacent outdoor space to be a lot bigger than the actual enclosed space,” he said.
 
Firm founder and managing partner Heidi Hefferlin also pointed out the pine beams in the rafters that were also put there for a purpose. 
 
“The design is also influenced by vernacular Tennessee architecture,” she said. “You notice the resemblance to a barn, and this was a farm before. The root of the design came from Tennessee architecture.”
 
J&J Contractors Inc. led by Skip Smith was the general contractor.
 
Also on hand for the event was former Councilman Mr. Crockett, who in the late 1980s led a group of homeowners in saving the Spangler farm from potential development plans. The City Commission agreed to buy it in 1990 in one of its last acts before the change in government.
 
Both Mr. Martin and Mr. Smith praised the efforts of Mr. Crockett, who ended up becoming the first District 3 city councilman from Hixson that year shortly after the successful purchase.
 
“Without David’s leadership, this wouldn’t be a park and we wouldn’t be here today,” Mr. Martin said.
 
Added Councilman Smith to Mr. Crockett, “If you didn’t stay dedicated to this space being a park, we would not be able to (celebrate) the accomplishment we are having in this building.”
 
In an interview before the formal remarks, Mr. Crockett recounted the events that led to the saving of the Greenway Farm greenspace more than 30 years ago. He said some 1,500 area residents had mobilized to prevent a development proposal.
 
When the development project seemed stalled after a zoning denial, he said they then began talking to then-Mayor Gene Roberts and told him they thought the Nature Conservancy was interested in buying the land to protect it.
 
“Gene said, ‘We would like to be a part of it,’ ” Mr. Crockett said. “I said if you are going to be a part of it, you are going to have to move in a hurry. He and (then-Commissioner of Public Utilities and former Mayor) Pat Rose said they will try to buy the facility.”
 
As a way of trying to sell the whole community on the project, he said they went to numerous groups and organizations and churches. And they had an unlikely group that they thought could get the most out of it – inner-city youngsters located miles away from the Hixson area.
 
“The people up on the ridge, they go to Yellowstone and the Smoky Mountains, but the inner-city kids don’t have anywhere” (to see the outdoors), he said, adding that the city of Chattanooga had no other offering like this for outdoor programs or canoeing.
 
He added that they tracked the use of the park by youngsters involved in the city programs the first eight or nine years the Greenway Farm was open, and many came from the inner-city areas or were members of minorities. Also, more than half of the rental uses in the park were done by minority groups, he said.
 
Mr. Crockett also praised the new conference center and the work by Councilman Smith to get it built.
 
“It’s a great facility and people can enjoy it,” he said.
 
A flier passed out at the open house said the facility includes the 2,497-square-foot main room with space for up to 188 people, a deck and outdoor space totaling 2,297 square feet, a dressing room/office and a kitchen. It also has restrooms, which architect Bailey said were put in the open central breezeway to allow for access from both center attendees and park exercisers.
 
The information also said the hourly rental rate is $75 per hour or $450 daily, and that those wanting to rent it during the hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. can call 423-643-7864.
 
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To hear an interview with former City Councilman Dave Crockett regarding the efforts more than 30 years ago to get the land saved as a park, listen here.
 
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Jcshearer2@comcast.net