Here at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, we’re committed to building a community where everyone can thrive. As part of that work, the chamber often receives confidential inquiries from companies evaluating the Chattanooga region as a possible location. In the chamber’s economic development role, we alone chose not to submit McDonald Farm as a site for the project that was referenced in a recent Times Free Press article, not Mayor Wamp. This was due to the very short timeline the project required and how long it would take to rezone the property and construct sewer infrastructure.
It is important that the chamber maintain its reputation as a trusted partner. When businesses are making location decisions, they must believe in our ability to meet project needs when we submit proposals. They must also trust us to respect the confidential manner of such requests. Submitting a site that could not possibly be made ready in time for a project could impact our reputation and cause Chattanooga and Hamilton County to be left out of future project considerations.
We hope that the increased understanding of how the lack of shovel ready industrial sites limits the community's ability to be successful in attracting and retaining job creation projects will help community leaders prioritize development of such sites. While many of us in the community are blessed with good jobs, our children and many of our neighbors also need career opportunities and there is no better time to start preparing for those opportunities than today.
Jeremy Henderson
Chattanooa Chamber vice president of marketing