But will progress come at the cost of an ancient oak?
The Chattanooga City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of four tracts in downtown St. Elmo when they met last week, which should make way for a $21 million, mixed-use development in the heart of the small village.
The decision was met with some local residents expressing their concerns about traffic congestion and a 150-year-old oak tree which could be cut down in the process.
All of this comes on the heels of the Chattanooga Board of Zoning Appeals voting for a waiver for parking related to a 4-acre tract anchored by a proposed 32,000-square-foot Publix supermarket on the site of the former Mt. Vernon Restaurant on South Broad Street.
Jeffery Cross has been observing changes in the St. Elmo neighborhood for a quarter century. He moderates the online forum for the Community Association of Historic St. Elmo (CAHSE). Subscribe to the email list and you will soon realize why this community is so vibrant. Anything is open for discussion.
“One reason you might think about asking for other folks’ input is that I honestly don’t have a super strong opinion on the new proposed development,” says Cross. “I’ve been moderating this email list for almost 20 years, and part of why I’m good at it is I’m a perennial fence-straddler.”
But upon further discussion, Cross can’t help but have a vision for the neighborhood he has spent so much time in.
“To be sure, I’m in favor of the development overall if it’s done right,” says Cross. “The fact that it’s being proposed by a local business owner with existing ties and investment in the community could have a significant and positive impact on the outcome.”
Cross is referring to Claudia Pullen, who along with her veterinarian husband Billy, operate Veterinary Care and Specialty Group (VCSG) located on Tennessee Avenue.
“Claudia cares about the neighborhood,” says Paige Wichman, who has been with CAHSE for eight years. “But we are definitely going through some growing pains.”
She mentions the 2014 charette study, a $280,000 planning effort paid for by the Lyndhurst and Benwood foundations. The study secured a portion of the Riverwalk through the U.S. Pipe and Wheland Foundry site, with a planned Broad Street crossing near the site of the former Mt. Vernon restaurant.
Since then, Lyndhurst has focused heavily on working with partners on the aspects of the plan related to multi-modal connectivity and the public realm with a particular emphasis on bicycle and pedestrian pathways.
“This includes the further development of the Guild Trail, the implementation of the Virginia Avenue Greenway, the planning for the extension of the Riverwalk and placement of Bike Chattanooga to the Incline, enhancements to street crossings and pedestrian accessibility (such as the St. Elmo Avenue crossing at Ochs Highway),” says Lyndhurst associate director Macon Toledano.
“We also hope to improve signage and wayfinding, also developing a small city park in front of Sawasdee Restaurant to serve as a gateway to the Virginia Avenue Greenway.”
Wichman remembers the project five years ago. “It really came down to us and the needs of the neighborhood,” she says.
Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise expressed concern in 2014 with extending the Riverwalk to downtown St. Elmo with nothing for pedestrians and bikers at the end of the journey.
“St. Elmo has really never been a destination,” says Mojo Burrito’s Eve Williams. “You’ve got to give people a reason to show up.”
Williams opened her first Mojo Burrito restaurant in St. Elmo in 2002 “when the tumbleweeds blew through the neighborhood,” she laughs.
“I’m a realist,” says Williams. “The area needs more growth but I hope it is in good taste.”
It’s kind of tricky for the hamlet that sits in the shadow of a major Civil War site and splits Georgia from Chattanooga.
“We are close to downtown but still have a sense of being removed,” says Wichman. “We want to shape smart development and maintain a sense of history.”
Part of that history seems to be in jeopardy with a plan to cut down a 150-year old oak tree that stands at the west side of 3734 St. Elmo Avenue.
“I think it’s exciting,” says Wichman of the development. “But I get why people are sad about losing the 150-year-old tree. It’s the narrative that the tree has been a witness to history.”
The community has circulated a petition to save the tree, collecting more than 500 signatures.
The tree sits on a block that now holds a vacant former SunTrust Bank branch and some smaller cherry blossom trees the petitioners also want to save.
Locals have named the giant tree “Old Oakey”. The petition said that its signers believe destroying the trees does not need to happen.
“The trees will beautify any man-made construction,” cites the petition. “Plus they provide shade for residents and passersby, a climbing spot for adventurers, and even a sound barrier from local processing plants.”
The organizers said that once its 1,000-signature goal is reached, plans are to present the petition to the developer.
“We encourage their design to work around demolition for their own place-making and positive public relations as well as for the people who love these trees and the critters they house and the shade we are blessed with,” the petition said.
Ben Berry, the project’s engineer, says the current plan does not include plans to save the last centennial oak in St. Elmo. Berry said no one spoke against the project before the Planning Commission.
“Yeah, it’s going to be interesting,” says Cross. “I like that we have people rallying for the trees and wanting to maintain our historic feel and community fabric.”
The $21 million mixed-use development in the heart of St. Elmo calls for planting new trees, including streetscaping Tennessee Avenue. The plan includes growing and maturing trees to produce a nice shaded pedestrian corridor. The development adds trees on Tennessee Avenue, St. Elmo Avenue and a pedestrian courtyard.
But the latest chapter in this saga finds locals want a traffic study to be conducted before anything happens. “I can definitely feel the traffic congestion,” says Wichman. “I was cussing in traffic today,” she laughs.
Wichman believes between traffic and the tree that developers have respect for the area and have done their due diligence.
“It’s been looked at different ways and from different angles,” she says. “We have been thoughtful since we are definitely a neighborhood of opinions. We are extremely active, boisterous, and we stay in contact and express concerns with our local politicians. “
But Cross doesn’t share all the community’s concerns.
“Traffic issues I’m not worried about because I think it will be a wash and not a major impact,” he says. “We need more development to ramp up our critical mass of local business for the benefit of everyone.”
Again the St. Elmo community finds itself in limbo and the final say seems to linger in the ether.
“One of my concerns for the future is that the center offers something for all ages,” says Williams. “I have seen the clock shop, the frame shop, the candle shop and other businesses come and go. I have watched it fail in its current state, so it needs something different.”
Williams says parking has always been an issue for her business and hopes the proposed parking garage can fix some of those problems. “Moving across the street (on the edge of the Food City complex) has done wonders,” she says.
The current plan calls for a five-year timeline for the project, which Williams sees as problematic for businesses.
“When we were on St. Elmo Avenue, the street would always be closed for events and other things,” she says. “Where is this heavy equipment going to live? I’m on team growth but which businesses will die in the process?”
In all, more than 100,000 square feet of office, retail space or residential is planned in downtown St. Elmo, along with the parking garage and possible hotel. The Publix complex will face more toward South Broad Street and put small retail space against the street, in line with locals who want to maintain an urban feel to the area.
“But the question is how much is enough and how much would be too much?” says Cross.
The new Publix layout is similar to the company’s North Market Street unit, but also will include the developer building a section of the Tennessee Riverwalk through the property, along with landscaping on South Broad Street.
“But I’m not thinking that this is make-it-or-break-it for St Elmo’s future either,” says Cross. “There will be risk factors as well in terms of the long-term effect on the traditional St. Elmo community fabric.”
Wichman hopes for a more focused future.
“There is great potential in downtown St. Elmo,” she says. “I think this project will help move us along.”