By: Drew Flora

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop) Calls for affordable housing in downtown Chattanooga resulted in a year long study about the new needs residents are bringing to the Scenic City.

Downtown Chattanooga

A 15-member panel that included city officials, developers, realtors, bankers, residents, along with others, came together to discuss the findings of the housing study presented by the Chattanooga Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency (RPA).

John Bridger, executive director for the RPA, presented an overview of the 83-page study and suggested Chattanooga form a Housing Task Force and put policies into place that would encourage livable, safe, and affordable housing for current and future residents of the city.

Summarizing the changes to demographic trends, RPA director of information and research, Yuen Lee said, “a combintation of smaller and single-parent families, higher unemployment rates and baby boomers transitioning into retirement correlated with an increase demand for smaller, more affordable housing.”

The presentation shared that an average Chattanoogan has $620 per month for rent, but the average rent in Chattanooga is $732.

Walnut Commons is an apartment complexes in the works, but despite several new apartment buildings going up around downtown, officials say there is a shortage of affordable housing in the downtown region. The average Chattanoogan has $620 per month for rent, but the average monthly rent in Chattanooga is $732.

“Sixty or 70 percent of households that make less than $30,000 are spending more than 30 percent on housing, which is considered, that’s over what’s recommended nationally,” said Bridger.

“Demand for lower-priced homes is increasing, especially affordable, quality homes in the urban overlay zone,” Lee said.

The city’s overlay zone is the area consisting of neighborhoods between Missionary Ridge and the Tennessee River.

The study showed that current multiple listing services (MLS) listings show only 325 properties in the downtown zone are priced at $100,000 or less. Two hundred homes are listed in the $75,000 or less range, failing to meet demand.

The RPA reported that the majority of people who make less than $20,000 a year live downtown even with a lack housing options.

City Council Chair Pam Ladd stressed that, in order for future housing initatives to be successful, additional elements besides facilities would need to be taken into consideration, specifically the livability and economy of a development.

“You’ve got to make sure the housing that we have available for low income has all the other elements of success: transportation, grocery stores, schools,” Ladd said. “It’s got to be a tighter environment.”

This is simple economics. Supply has to surpass demand for the cost to come down. Developers have a hard road ahead in trying to work around ordinances and current zoning issues. Chattanooga is full of potential, but this process is a marathon, not a sprint.

By: Sloane DeBerry

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop) – The prices of houses in Chattanooga are at an increasingly high rate and leave residents of the city concerned.

Chattanooga housing market leaves a number of houses for sale.

“Housing for All” to the City Council at the meeting on Feb. 26. a 83 page study concerning the housing market in the Chattanooga area. John Bridger, Executive Director of RPA, recommended that the city form a Housing Task Force to review his findings.

“I want to emphasize that this is a report and is not a formal policy. I also want to emphasize that the report recommendations have not materially changed from the housing summit,” John Bridger said.

The goal of this study, suggested by the City Council of Chattanooga, was to see if the city’s housing polices were constant with the residents choosing to rent homes instead of buying them. This study was conducted during the time span of a year.

“Sixty or 70 percent of households that make less than $30,000 are spending more than 30 percent on housing, which is considered, that’s over what’s recommended nationally,” Bridger said.

Executive Director of Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Authority

Betsy McCright  is the Executive Director of the Chattanooga Housing Authority. McCright said the need for affordable housing is significant, there are 1,600 people on their public housing waiting list.

“Demand for lower-priced homes is increasing, especially affordable, quality homes in the urban overlay zone,” Yuen Lee, RPA director of information and research, said. The housing plan focuses on the overlay area of neighborhoods between Missionary Ridge and the Tennessee River in Chattanooga.

“This could have some real spin-off effects in reducing crime. Where the neighborhood goes, crime goes a lot of times and so many things that can come from improving the neighborhood situation, the housing situation,” Councilman Jack Benson said.

By: Paige Pertuit

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop) According to Chattanooga Housing Study of 2013  there are three factors that are changing housing needs for citizens of Chattanooga. It includes a combination of the Great Recession, extreme changes in household type over the past few decades and the growing influence the Baby Boomers and Generation Y.

The Great Recession has had a major impact on “the financial capacity of households to obtain affordable housing: nationally family net worth actually declined 40% between 2007 and 2010,” said Regional Planning Agency in their report. Between 2000 and 2010 family incomes increased at only half the rate of housing expenses.

Although Chattanooga’s housing plan puts detached single-family houses as their primary housing choice option, the Baby Boomers and Generation Y represent over 60% of the population presenting a higher demand for apartments and smaller homes.

“It’s kind of hard trying to find affordable rent. With the waiting list being closed it was very hard from a whole bunch of Harriet Tubman, people that were living out there, because we were looking for a very long time,” says Corchea Stamper, a former resident of the closed down Harriet Tubman homes pictured above.

Chattanooga has a decreasing amount of undeveloped subdivision lots, but also has a large number of vacant lots scattered around the City. “However,” said the Housing Study, “many of these lots are located in neighborhoods that will require revitalization intervention activity to make them attractive for redevelopment.”

Although housing affordability has an impact on all income levels, it is more of a struggle among those with lower incomes.

“More than 37,000 households in Chattanooga make less than $35,000 a year,” said Yuen Lee, RPA director of information and research. In attempt to aide these people Chattanooga Housing Authority recently issued 100 housing vouchers to those in need of a home, but there are still about 5,000 on the waiting list.

“Sixty or 70 percent of households that make less than $30,000 are spending more than 30 percent on housing, which is considered, that’s over what’s recommended nationally,” said Chattanooga Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency Executive Director John Bridger.

John Bridger, head of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Authority.

City Council Chair Pam Ladd said, “You’ve got to make sure the housing that we have for low income has all the other elements of success: transportation,   grocery stores, schools. It’s got to be a tighter environment.”

In regards to the Chattanooga Housing Study, Councilman Peter Murphy said   ”I know that there are great needs out there that can be addressed. This will help us identify those and proceed intelligently.”

WRBC quoted Betsy McCright, Executive Director of the Chattanooga Housing Authority saying “Many, many, many of our residents are working people. They’re serving you in the restaurant you go to, they’re cleaning up when you leave a hotel. They’re good people and they have the same desires as non low income people, to have a place to raise your family, get your kids a good education and just have a home you can be proud of,” said McCright.