Another large new development will be coming to East Ridge. The old Osborne Shopping Center on 13 acres along Ringgold Road was bought last year by Urban Story Ventures. That Chattanooga company is known for revitalizing areas that have seen better days. Their plan for the old shopping center along both sides of Ringgold Road is to turn it into a vibrant multi-use commercial development that could have businesses such as clothing and household goods retailers, a fitness center, entertainment complex, restaurants and bars.
To activate the area by converting it into a walkable, family friendly area, the city had been petitioned to abandon an area of right-of-way along Old Ringgold Road that runs behind the buildings on the north side to use as a promenade. That promenade could be used for food trucks and vendors on the weekends, said developer Jimmy White.
At a public hearing about the project Thursday night, only one resident that backs up to the project spoke and he was in favor. The council voted unanimously to abandon their portion of that right-of-way, which is 15 feet of one side of the road. The other 15 feet on the opposite side of the street will belong to the property owners that border Old Ringgold Road and who will have to negotiate with the developers for use of their property.
Building the new multi-use pavilion and renovation and expansion of the East Ridge Community Center project that is being built by the city is also moving forward. In 2024, the city approved spending $5,080,736 for the construction. That price came in below the originally expected price. Since the actual building started, $154,334 in change orders have been approved and City Manager Scott Miller told the council to expect around $400,000 in additional costs for furniture, fixtures and equipment. At the last council meeting another $186,690 was authorized to build a road to the new pavilion and for relocating sewer lines.
Only one bid was received for infield conditioning and field grading at Camp Jordan Park. That bid for $22,800 was approved. And requests coming from East Ridge High School and East Ridge Middle School to use the baseball, softball and soccer fields in the park was also authorized, along with waiving the fees for using them.
The city of East Ridge will enter into an easement agreement with Parkridge Medical Center. The hospital will be given a 35-foot easement located at 1018 Yale St. That will give access to the hospital from Spring Creek Road. And a variance to the city’s sign ordinance will allow Frawley Baptist Church to install an off-premise “wayfinding” sign. It will be located at the corner of Ringgold and Frawley Roads. It will be allowed with the conditions that it is a maximum size of two by three feet for the sign, no higher than nine feet, and it must be located 10 feet from the right-of-way.
On the second and final reading, the council passed an amendment to an ordinance regarding eligibility of members to city boards and committees. The amendment prohibits any member of the city council from being appointed to any city board, committee or commission. And an eligible person may only serve on one board or commission - down from being able to serve on two. These changes are retroactive and may require removal of a member.