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The development of the riverfront into a vibrant center of commerce and tourism, the investment in neighborhoods and growing interest in the Southside, the monumental turnaround from one of America’s dirtiest cities to a model of environmentally friendly activity, the outstanding partnership developed between the public and private sectors, and the drive to bring industry and employment opportunity to the area have set the community apart.

Such progress in turn generates tremendous potential and begs one ponderous question. What’s next?

Recently, a number of civic leaders provided perspectives on the days ahead. Common themes such as job creation, improved public education, revitalization of neighborhoods, and greater opportunity for all citizens emerged during the discussions.

"Job creation is very important now," said Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield who is nearing completion of his first year in office. "To me, the next big thing is something major for Enterprise South Industrial Park, and we have a number of opportunities that we are pursuing right now. In my opinion, that is somewhere on the horizon."

Littlefield dismisses speculation that the current tactic is to hold out for an automobile manufacturing facility as a primary industrial tenant at Enterprise South. The key for the success of the entire development is not only to secure a single large operation but additional companies which will create even more jobs.

Sally Robinson
City Council Chariwoman

"An auto plant would be wonderful, but we are looking for any manufacturer that will employ numbers of people, the more the better, and with high-paying jobs -- not something that would employ only a few people, pay minimum wage, and take up a lot of land. We will be somewhat selective. There are all sorts of manufacturers out there, and some people say that we have to go high-tech, but the fact is that manufacturing is high-tech. Practically all the manufacturing in the United States is high-tech, utilizing robotics and such. There are also opportunities in appliance manufacturing. You name it. If it is manufactured, it could be done here."

Littlefield does see the pace of activity picking up as the search is on to create quality jobs in the area. "Obviously, we are working in a fast and furious way with both Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey and the Chamber of Commerce. We have literally traveled all over the world pursuing prospects, and we have had a regular stream of people coming through here. I can’t predict when something big will happen at Enterprise South, although we have had some great things happen elsewhere. We hope to see a continuous parade of announcements over the next few months and years. There is enough land at Enterprise South that we can go for a long time. Only half of it is available right now, and additional acreage is being prepared by the federal government and will be available in the months ahead as well."

County Mayor Claude Ramsey agrees that the priority for our community is to create jobs. Ramsey has successfully worked with four different Chattanooga mayors during a tenure in office dating back to 1994                  

Mayor Claude Ramsey

"Over the past couple of decades we’ve focused on physical properties - the aquarium, the Creative Discovery Museum, the waterfront development. These achievements have raised our opinion of ourselves and increased our optimism. I think the next phase will be more people-based as we concentrate on our neighborhoods, educational opportunities for our children and more job opportunities - the things that affect people’s lives directly. Community Impact of Chattanooga --the Lyndhurst Foundation-based neighborhood revitalization program -- the Benwood Schools, and the United Way’s early childhood programs are all examples of this major shift".

"In the meantime, the focus is on continuing to look at a trainable workforce and people who can qualify with skills to be ready to fill available jobs," Ramsey continued. "I don’t think you can talk about economic development without talking about a trainable workforce. Education is at the top of the list. To increase economic opportunity and job creation, you must have a labor force that is trainable and has basic skills. This goes all the way back to early childhood initiatives like learning to read."

A strong workforce does begin with education, and as current chairman of the board of the local United Way Mai Bell Hurley is a strong advocate of continuing improvement in public education.

"I would suggest that the effort begins with early childhood development," said Hurley, "and the United Way’s Project Ready For School distributes free books under the Imagination Library program to more than 8,000 families now. The ultimate result is that children get to kindergarten with the developmental skills and tools to learn to read by the third grade."

Governor Bredesen and country music entertainer Dolly Parton have endorsed the Imagination Library and Project Ready for School, which is expected to increase the number of children who arrive in kindergarten prepared to learn. Hurley notes that the effort to build basic skill sets and enable children to be successful in learning to read is not limited the United Way effort alone.

"It includes neighborhood reading centers and family parenting classes," she said. "The effort is a broad-based collaboration of a number of initiatives focused on early childhood. It matches the Chamber’s own initiative to improve and support public education and complements the new literacy program that County Mayor Ramsey and his committee have just launched. So, it seems we have done a remarkable job on the infrastructure of the community, and I celebrate that. Now, we are including an initiative to build the social capital of the community, and literacy and early childhood education are important for that. Reading to children as early as possible moves them along the way toward learning to read by the third grade."

Several years ago, a group of concerned business and property owners joined together to form the South Broad Redevelopment Group, focusing on the major corridor from Interstate 24 along South Broad Street to Alton Park and St. Elmo. Former industrial sites have been reclaimed and occupied by new businesses, while plans for residential and commercial redevelopment are proceeding.

Ann Weeks

"If you look at the big picture, we have a wonderful waterfront which has really just enhanced the bookends of downtown and Lookout Mountain," said Ann Weeks, general manager of Ivan Allen Workspace in Chattanooga and president of the South Broad Redevelopment Group. "The Southside is right between downtown and the foot of Lookout Mountain, and I call it the last frontier. South Broad is a gateway into the city and to Lookout Mountain, North Georgia, St. Elmo, and Tiftonia. In the 1950s, I-24 divided the community from downtown, and it became a drive-through kind of area that began to deteriorate."

Weeks believes that a revitalized South Broad District, or "SoBro" as her group has come to call it, will pay dividends for all of Chattanooga and Hamilton County. "We have a neighborhood plan together," she said. "It includes the revival of both residential and business properties. Commercial is slowly infilling along South Broad, and we are working on the residential component. The Chamber is working with us on some strategic planning, and we are refocusing on who we are and what we want to be. At this time, we are looking at some one-way streets that are hindering our commerce and working with the city to get that changed. Also, we are working with St. Elmo because it is such a strong residential community. It is important that we hold hands with the people in St. Elmo, so to speak."

According to Memorial Health Care System Chief Executive Officer Ruth Brinkley, several priorities lie in the near future for Chattanooga and Hamilton County. "The foundation of Chattanooga is strong, and we have the ability now to reinforce our economic base and build a legacy for future generations," she said. "Chattanooga has made significant progress in revitalizing the downtown area and attracting new businesses."

Brinkley says the community must take advantage of the opportunities which arise in addressing multiple challenges concurrently. "I believe our future success will depend heavily on our consistent ability to recruit additional businesses and attract a highly motivated, well-trained workforce while continuing to strengthen our public education system," she said.

Ruth Brinkley

"In the last 40 years Chattanooga has gone through a serious and unsettling decline, followed by a robust recovery. That process brought to the surface a new vision of the city’s future. It stimulated new investment and forged new working relationships. On the other hand, the steady suburban growth in the surrounding metropolitan area separated it from the city’s crisis and, to some degree, its renaissance. The greatest challenge for the next decade is to fill that void with initiatives that are compelling enough to bring forth our better selves and our fullest engagement. I cannot imagine two more powerful goals than developing the best public schools and the best private economy in the South."