District hub will take time to develop
The first midsized city to have an Innovation District will wait a little longer to see it come to fruition.
A private developer had been expected to own the district’s hub, the Edney Building, by late February, but negotiations are still underway.
“We are finalizing those now,” said Ken Hays, president of the Enterprise Center, the nonprofit organization that Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke charged with spearheading the project a year ago. Hays on Wednesday said he hopes to “announce details” of the deal in the next several weeks.
Co.Lab’s move into the building also has been delayed. The nonprofit business accelerator currently located in the city’s Southside neighborhood had planned to move in this month as the anchor tenant, eager to host its summer GigTank event there. That probably will happen this fall.
Innovation Districts, touted by the Brookings Institution, are meant to provide “collision opportunities” for entrepreneurs. The Washington D.C.- based think tank, which inspired Berke to pursue creation of a local district, describes them as “geographic areas where leading- edge anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with start- ups, business incubators and accelerators. They are also physically compact, transit-accessible, and technically-wired and offer mixed- use housing, office, and retail.”
“It’s those constant conversations that bring innovation and creativity to the forefront,” Berke told a Wednesday lunch crowd during a Chattanooga Technology Council event.
Chattanooga’s district is 140 acres and covers a downtown area that includes Lamp Post Group, Society of Work, EPB and the Public Library, among other key players. The 10-floor Edney Building at 1100 Market St. will house Co.Lab, the Enterprise Center and, the hope is, many startups. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which currently owns the building, will remain on three floors for about two years. No tax incentives are associated with the district, Hays said.
The Enterprise Center’s original contract with TVA called for a Feb. 23 closing. TVA agreed to move that up two weeks and has since agreed to
additional postponement, Hays said. Plans call for the Enterprise Center to find a private buyer. Two responded to a January request for proposal, he said. Hays declined to name the buyer.
“We said before that we were on a pretty ambitious schedule,” Hays said. “It’s just taking time.”
Interior work should begin this summer on the building, he said Wednesday.
The delay doesn’t pose a problem for Co.Lab, spokeswoman Tia Capps said.
“We’re perfectly happy to continue utilizing our workspace on Main Street until the Edney is ready for our transition,” she said. “The shift in our move date won’t interfere with our plans for GigTank.”
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@ timesfreepress.com or 423757-6406. Follow her on Twitter @MitraMalek.