Officials Look Ahead in Wake of Toyota’s Announcement
Posted February 2007
Chattanooga, TN. -- Officials responded to news that Toyota’s next assembly plant will not be located in the Scenic City by reaffirming their commitment to competing for major job creation projects.
“We left no stone unturned in competing for this project, and we are deeply disappointed by this news, but as a community, we can’t afford to let disappointment become discouragement,” said Chattanooga City Mayor Ron Littlefield. “Our economic development team is already focusing on what’s next. We accelerated development at Enterprise South, and as a result we are extremely well-positioned to compete for other major projects.”
“The Toyota assembly plant project was the first time we have ever been in contention for an auto project of this magnitude,” said Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey. “Two years ago we couldn’t even get an invitation to the dance. Now we’re getting national publicity as a finalist for one of the most sought-after projects in the U.S. That’s a huge accomplishment, and we’re going to move forward with our efforts to win family-wage jobs for the people of Hamilton County.”
According to Trevor Hamilton, Chief Economic Development Officer for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, competing as a finalist for such a high profile project enhances efforts to market the Chattanooga area. “This project has raised Chattanooga’s visibility to the next level,” Hamilton said. “We will make full use of the attention Enterprise South and Chattanooga are now receiving to position our community for economic growth.”
Hamilton also confirmed that Enterprise South is being considered for a number of other projects. “While we’ve worked hard on this project, we have continued to aggressively market Enterprise South for small, medium, and large manufacturing operations,” Hamilton said. “As a result, we have a number of projects in the pipeline and will continue to do everything we can to win them.”
Mayor Ramsey applauded both the governor’s office and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for their role in the effort. “Governor Bredesen and Commissioner (Matthew) Kisber have provided tremendous support for Enterprise South and Hamilton County throughout this process,” said Mayor Ramsey. “The state of Tennessee put together an aggressive incentives package, and Toyota seemed very satisfied with what we offered.”
According to Mayor Littlefield, one of the lasting benefits from the project is the level of team work established among the more than 30 organizations that played a role during the competitive process. “We’ve learned a lot from this experience,” Mayor Littlefield said. “We are fortunate to have a team that includes people at the federal, state, and local level. We have proven that we can cooperate in responding to some very challenging requests in an extremely short time frame. I applaud everyone for their dedication and determination in working this and other projects.”
Hamilton noted that while the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce acted as the local project manager for the effort, the community’s ability to compete relied on proactive participation by:
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Local Elected Leadership
Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey Chattanooga City Mayor Ron Littlefield
Hamilton County Commission
Chattanooga City Council
State of Tennessee
Governor Bredesen
Commissioner Matthew Kisber
All of our state legislators, particularly the two leaders who represent the area that contains Enterprise South:
- Representative Gerald McCormick
- Senator Bo Watson
Tennessee Departments of
- Economic and Community Development
- Environment and Conservation
- Finance and Administration
- Labor and Workforce Development
- Revenue
- Transportation
United States Federal Government
Senator Lamar Alexander
Senator Bob Corker
Congressman Zach Wamp
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Department of the Army
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. General Services Administration |
Economic Development Partners
Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau
Chattanooga Public Works Department
Hamilton County Real Property Office
Hamilton County Railroad Authority
Utility Partners
Chattanooga Gas and Atlanta Gas Light
Eastside Utility District
EPB
TVA
Education Partners
Chattanooga State Technical Community College
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Private Sector Team Players
All the Tell the World! investors with a special thanks to these companies who worked directly on the project:
- Capital Toyota
- EMJ
- U.S. Xpress
Additional Economic Development Partners
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz P.C.
Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon
Norfolk Southern
CSX
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