WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
The Westside Evolves Team values collaboration and engagement with the community. Throughout the process, the team will be in the community listening and learning, collecting valuable feedback from residents new and old to shape the long term plan for the neighborhood. The following stories highlight some of the engagement to date.
Summer 2023 | Summer Events in the Westside
With work ramping up on all sides throughout the Westside, a series of events were held throughout the Westside to loop the community into the design processes for the soon to be renovated James A. Henry Headstart and Community Center, Sheila Jennings Park, as well as answering any questions related to the design process for the first phase of housing.
Spring 2023 | Columbia Residential Chosen as Westside Master Developer
From the Fall of 2022 to the Spring of 2023, CHA led a stakeholder committee to select the master developer for the Westside. The committee was unanimous in its decision to choose Columbia Residential to lead the next steps in turning the Westside Evolves vision into a reality.
Fall 2022 | Westside Evolves Plan Formally Adopted by Chattanooga City Council and Hamilton County Commission
The Fall of 2022 was an exciting time for Westside Evolves—the plan was formally adopted by Chattanooga City Council, as well as by the Hamilton County Commmission.
Summer 2022 | ARPA Funding Awarded to the Westside
In August of 2022, Congressman Chuck Fleischmann announced the awarding of three million dollars in ARPA funding for Westside Evolves
Fall 2021 | The Future of James A Henry Building + Sheila Jennings Park
From planning to implementation, the Westside Evolves team continues to engage the community in Fall 2021 to kick off the ‘James A Henry Campus’ visioning to bring further detail and vision to the historic building and adjacent park.
July 2021 | Grove Street Block Party Celebration
A celebration to mark the end of the planning process.
May 2021 | Pop Up Engagement
Continued community engagement, popping up in the park. The local Westside Evolves team set up in the corner park on Grove Street to continue engagements related to Stage 3 workshops. With music, snacks and coloring activities, the community gathered to spend time together in the park. Many kids stopped by to give feedback on future amenities they would like to see in the neighborhood.
April 2021 | Workshops
Stage 3 Design a Plan Workshops further engaged residents to co-create a vision for the neighborhood including parks, streets, residential buildings and important community amenities. The workshop included an update on all community input to date, a new neighborhood inspired poem by lead creative Erika Roberts and a design exercise led by Smith Gee Architects centered around the future of several important proposed new and existing (to be preserved and enhanced) public spaces.
April 2021 | Four Bridges Art Festival
The Imagination Team set up a booth at the Four Bridges Art Festival at the First Tennessee Pavilion from April 16-18. The artists displayed the current work and projects inspired by the neighborhood and helped to raise awareness for the Westside Evolves project. The booth generated conversations with Chattanooga residents about the important culture and history of the Westside.
March 2021 | Workshops
The workshops marked the start of Stage 2: Create a Shared Vision. In addition to sharing highlights from all the information gathered in Stage 1, the planning team led participants in a series of exercises and conversations to begin to shape a shared vision for the future of the neighborhood. These workshops included discussions about priorities and preferences for the plan regarding new housing, neighborhood retail and amenities, transportation, public infrastructure, supportive service programs and more.
February 2021 | Memory Board Collages
Westside residents were asked for a couple words about the past, present, and future of the neighborhood. These words and phrases were pasted and collaged onto boards and will inform a larger art piece.
November 2020 | The Memory Room | Oral History Project
The Westside Evolves team is collecting oral histories from the long-time residents of the Westside community. A dedicated space in the historic James A Henry school building was set up to record residents stories and memories of the past, hopes and desires for the future.
November 2020 | Your Voice, Your Community!
A resident survey event kicked off October 1st at College Hill Courts and Gateway Towers. A survey team of residents and Housing Authority staff led the way to complete over 300 surveys with residents! The voices and opinions of residents will be presented back to the community later this fall and incorporated into the final vision plan. A wider neighborhood survey was conducted in November and December 2020. View the survey results here.
October 2020 | Planning Team Visits
The EJP Planning Team visited Chattanooga to meet with stakeholders, residents and tour the area. They received a lot of great feedback and insight from the local community. This was the first of many visits to Chattanooga, look out for more to come in the next few months.
August 2020 | First Conversations & A Neighborhood Logo
In August 2020 community engagement began with small groups of kids sharing their thoughts and vision for the future of the neighborhood. Kids and families gave feedback on a neighborhood logo, colors and input on what people like and don’t like about their community.
