Residents of Chattanooga will be the first to tell you that the Scenic City has much to offer. With a favorable business climate, mild weather, supreme outdoor offerings, top-notch attractions, and connectivity to other major hubs in the region, Chattanooga is a desirable place to live, work, and play. As the city continues to grow, so do the commercial real estate happenings.

Dominating headlines are several large-scale projects that aim to add retail, entertainment, and office space alongside residential units. The One Westside plan is expected to take the better part of a decade to fully complete and attract an estimated $1 billion in new development. One part of the plan called The Bend is slated to bring 1 million square feet of commercial space, half a million square feet of retail space, 500 hotel rooms, and 1,500 housing units. 

Further into the heart of downtown, the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo underwent a major revitalization in 2023. Now rebranded as The Hotel Chalet, the $19 million renovation included 127 guest rooms (25 of which are inside restored train carriages), an updated fitness center, an alpine pool, and plenty of indoor and outdoor lounge spaces. 

But that’s not the only new place welcoming guests to Chattanooga. Mountain Shore Properties is in the process of erecting a 92-room boutique hotel in the city’s Southside district, and Vision Hospitality broke ground on a $54 million, 184-room Embassy Suites hotel in the summer of 2023. Outside of City Center, the East Ridge neighborhood will welcome a new Hilton hotel in mid-2024, and the East Brainerd area is expected to add three hotels in the coming years that will collectively add just under 500 rooms.

Another burgeoning sector within the commercial real estate landscape is multifamily. Across the metro area several projects are in the works that will add thousands of apartment and condo units. Novare Group plans to open a 344-unit apartment complex in East Brainerd in 2024, while an additional 300 units are planned near the future home of the Chattanooga Lookouts. Also using the new stadium as a catalyst for development is Claudia Pullen, who aims to begin site work in 2024 on a 5-acre development in nearby St. Elmo that would include a mix of shops, residences, offices, and more.    

Other projects include the 300-unit Southeastern Development building in Northshore, a $40 million apartment complex in Ooltewah by Hunter Road Developers LLC, a $100 million mixed-use development by Thousand Hills Co.,  and a 200-unit complex complete with added retail space in Red Bank, which is being spearheaded by Rise Partners.

While developments designed to house residents and guests alike are coming to the forefront, that’s not to say the office and industrial sectors aren’t evolving. In fact, a proposal for a new 20-story office tower in City Center details what would be the largest project of its kind in nearly 50 years,  and a market study conducted for River City Co. projects that office space is expected to grow by
1.1 million square feet by 2035.

Meanwhile, Hixson’s new North River Commerce Center secured its first tenant in 2023. The Home Depot will use roughly one-third of the 189,000-square-foot building as a warehouse and distribution facility. Just across the Tennessee-Georgia border, work continues on the Cloud Springs I-75 Park which will add 1.3 million square feet of fully customizable space. In Sale Creek, plans to turn a portion of the 2,100-acre McDonald Farm into an industrial park continue to progress. Together these developments aim to enrich the lives of residents and visitors alike while simultaneously supporting the region’s growth.

With existing businesses expanding and new companies, families, and visitors increasingly choosing Chattanooga, virtually all forms of commercial real estate are ramping up to meet demand. Leading the pack are the industrial, multi-family, and hospitality sectors. 

The need for industrial and warehouse space has never been greater as companies continue to choose the Chattanooga area given its prime location and pro-business state legislature. Adding to the demand are companies looking for space near powerhouse businesses such as Volkswagen and Amazon. 

At the end of 2021, Hamilton County purchased McDonald Farm with plans to turn a portion of the 2,100-acre property into an industrial park over the next several years. Also making headlines is the new North River Commerce Center, which broke ground in October 2022 and is slated to come online by the fall of 2023. This industrial park, built on the site of the former Dupont nylon plant, will add 800,000 square feet of industrial space across four buildings in what is expected to be an investment of roughly $102 million. Site prep also got underway in the spring of 2022 on a vacant 18-acre tract of land near Enterprise South Industrial Park, which will add another quarter million square feet of industrial space to the burgeoning district. 

As new jobs are added across the city, the needs for multi-family housing have reached new heights. Further adding to this demand, more remote workers have chosen Chattanooga for their home since the global pandemic. Additionally, more retirees have opted to move to the Scenic City for its mild climate, quality of life, and low cost of living. In response, developers are adding housing solutions. 

Beacon Companies received the green light in 2022 to add 350 apartment units in a $90 million project in the city’s Northshore neighborhood, and the company is also eyeing an additional 10 acres that could potentially make way for another 700 riverfront residential units. On the other side of the river along Amnicola Highway, Fletcher Bright Co. is hard at work on River’s Edge at South Chick – a $400 million project that’s slated to boast up to 900 units and additional commercial space. 

Middle Street Partners and EMJ Corp. are teaming up on a $50 million, 271-unit apartment complex on the Northshore, while Southern Spear Properties is working to fill residential spaces at its new mixed-use project on the Southside being dubbed Lucey Quarter. At its culmination, the project is expected to offer new townhomes, a food hall, retail and event space, and possibly a boutique hotel. Not far away, Collier Construction’s $180 million Mill Town development is taking shape. Phase I came online in 2022 and offered 16 homes and 32 townhomes, and the entire project aims to deliver as many as 700 new residential spaces when it’s completed. Mixed-use heavyweight The Bend is also still under construction and will bring together residential, commercial, office, entertainment, and recreation spaces at the end of the decade-long project. 

Developers aren’t just catering to residents, however. They are also looking to support the continued growth of visitors with new hospitality and tourism offerings throughout the city. Plans to convert the former Chattanooga Bank Building into a Hilton hotel are expected to top $40 million, and a 90-room boutique hotel proposed for Chattanooga’s Southside recently won approval and is anticipated to open in 2024. The city’s first Hyatt hotel is also slated to come online in the Southside district in a $30 million project. The groundbreaking for the new $79 million Chattanooga Lookouts stadium in the South Broad district could take place as early as spring 2023, and the next phase of the Chattanooga Red Wolves development in East Ridge is underway and will include the first of 144 luxury townhomes and more seating for the professional soccer club’s stadium. 

Whether it’s expanding manufacturing companies, additional housing for those new to the city, or simply more places for out-of-towners to stay when visiting area attractions, Chattanooga’s commercial real estate landscape is a flurry of activity and is poised for continued growth.