Architects propose reviving dead zone on Chattanooga's Vine Street

These renderings depict what the Vine Street corridor between UTC and downtown Chattanooga could look like if a proposal from a local group of urban designers was developed. The project features mixed-use, high-density residential development where parking lots currently stand, and a new parking garage with a park on top

A group of architects on Tuesday proposed sweeping changes for the Vine Street corridor between Georgia Avenue and Douglas Street.

Students currently use the term "dead zone" to refer to the vast expanse of parking lot blacktop on the street's north side.

But urban designers unveiled a $60 million plan to convert the urban desert into what they hope will be an outdoor living room, populated chiefly by pedestrians instead of the occasional passing car.

The fifth in a series of Urban Design Challenges events sponsored by nonprofit developer River City Co., the presentation at Central Church of Christ focused primarily on connecting the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to Market Street.

"We're hoping to establish a connection that for a long time has frankly been disappointing," said Matt Greenwell, an art teacher at UTC.

Under the plan, the endless sea of motionless vehicles would disappear into a new, 900-parking space parking garage, complete with retail on the ground floor.

On top of the garage, architects envision a 4,000-seat soccer stadium and recreational field that would draw residents from throughout the area.

Mixed-use housing targeted at graduates, empty-nesters and students would lead back toward the university proper, connected by a new shuttle between Georgia Avenue and UTC's properties at Central Avenue.

The most daring part of the plan, however, centers on Fountain Square, a virtually unused monument to firefighters who lost their lives in the city's great fire of 1887.

Here is the original post:
Architects propose reviving dead zone on Chattanooga's Vine Street