Chattanooga officials unveiled plans Tuesday for a roughly $677,000 grant program aimed at helping businesses along six corridors outside downtown, including 38th Street, Rossville Boulevard, M.L. King Boulevard, Brainerd Road, Spring Creek Road and Highway 58, newly published reporting shows.
Winston Brooks, who leads the city’s economic development initiatives, said the grant money would be disbursed upfront rather than through reimbursement, and that the program still needs approval from the Industrial Development Board, which holds $1.3 million for economic development projects in disadvantaged communities. Grants would range from up to $5,000 for signage improvements to up to $10,000 for facade renovations, up to $25,000 for permanent improvements that let a business move into a vacant space, and up to $50,000 for major retail development. Businesses would have nine months to complete a funded project.
City Council member Dennis Clark, who represents Cherokee Woods and several eligible corridors, said many of the target areas are historically Black neighborhoods and pushed for grant money to reach longtime Black business owners, saying he wants to see the funds reach Black entrepreneurs and would not support the program otherwise. Council member Raquetta Dotley, who represents Alton Park, said the program has been years in the making and that she has already gathered names of businesses that would qualify, and said she hopes to see the program eventually expand to support businesses on St. Elmo Avenue.
Officials hope to launch the program later this year. The plan follows years of discussion among city leaders about directing economic development dollars toward corridors outside Chattanooga’s downtown core, where investment has historically lagged.
Why it matters for Chattanooga: The roughly $677,000 program targets specific corridors — including historically Black neighborhoods such as Cherokee Woods and Alton Park — where council members say business investment has lagged behind downtown.
