Baseball and football hits have been experienced on Hawk Hill in downtown Chattanooga mostly in the evenings since 1963, and now officials hope the site itself becomes a 24-hour hit with a variety of planned new residential and commercial developments.
River City Company and other officials gathered Friday morning in the picnic pavilion of AT&T Field – where Kirkman High Hawks’ sports fields once were -- to unveil the conceptual plans for what to put on the 13-acre site where the Lookouts have played since the 2000 season.
On this land that will revert to the non-profit River City Company after the Lookouts are expected to vacate the stadium around the start of the 2026 season, officials envision everything from housing to a hotel, to restaurants and a greenspace.
“There are apartments, townhomes and condos planned,” said River City President Emily Mack to reporters after the public announcement, adding that hundreds would likely be living there. “In addition, there are several opportunities for food and beverage restaurants. There’s a concept for a stand-alone restaurant as well as restaurants incorporated within specific developments.
“There’s a proposed hotel, and again that’s an opportunity for visitors and guests to Chattanooga, as well as a neighborhood park and connected trails.”
She said the park should be roughly the size of the greenspace at Miller Park, adding, “It’s what we would call a neighborhood-scale park.” Officials also said in the announcement that a public pedestrian promenade around the hill would be included, and publicly available views from the top would be offered.
A sound barrier from the adjacent U.S. 27 would also be put in place. And she also said after asked an affordable housing question by a media member that one tower building at the site has been proposed to include mixed-income housing. One or two buildings in the drawings appear to have around 12 stories or more.
She and other officials emphasized that the plans are just conceptual and are not finalized, while adding that those were the offerings desired during the process of more than a year of getting community feedback. Also, RCLCO Real Estate Consulting firm and the Pittsburgh-based Urban Design Associates helped them come up with the current plans.
Officials also did not give a timeline, and none of the work will start until the Lookouts have moved into their new stadium in the Southside, the groundbreaking for which was held on Monday.
But it was certainly a festive atmosphere as nearly 100 people gathered for the 9:30 unveiling, with several posters displaying the conceptual drawings.
During the formal program, Ms. Mack said that the proposed new development – which will also likely include residential buildings in the parking lot along Riverfront Parkway below the stadium – should be a big draw to numerous people.
“The goal is to create a mixed-use neighborhood that bookends the Walnut Hill development to the east,” she said of the area closer to Walnut Street and Georgia Avenue. “This land offers both residents and visitors an opportunity to discover a hilltop neighborhood.”
She also praised the 3,100 people who participated in online surveys and public visioning and listening sessions, adding, “We asked you what you wanted to do, and you showed up in a big way.”
Officials also said that one of the big requests was for an amphitheater that took advantage of the sloping land around the site. But they said a planned music venue at The Bend as well as music opportunities at the new baseball stadium and Finley Stadium negated that. Parks in downtown Chattanooga can also likely support such events, they said.
Mayor Tim Kelly in his comments to the audience called the public unveiling an extraordinary day in Chattanooga’s history. “This day has been imagined for a long time. It’s fantastic,” he said.
He said the view from the picnic pavilion and around AT&T Field offers some of the most iconic profiles around downtown, and that is reason enough to get excited about all the opportunities there.
“This opens up a whole array of possibilities, and there is also the opportunity to solve the housing crisis,” he added. “And there is nobody living up here, so this is a greenfield opportunity.”
Also speaking at the ceremony was Jonathan Armstrong of the Riverfront Business & Resident Partnership, who praised the planned redevelopment and how it will bring energy to this downtown area around the clock.
He also likes the setting, adding, “Hawk Hill will be available for everyone to enjoy the views. It’s an incredible view up here.”
Ms. Mack tried to sum up the significance of the day in her remarks closing the program when she said, “We look forward to transformational development in the years ahead.”
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Jcshearer2@comcast.net