Collegedale Tomorrow Foundation Inc. plans to give Four Corners a retro makeover within the next few years by adding trees, wider sidewalks and benches, and turning strip malls into complexes, according to the foundation’s executive director and founder, David Barto.
Collegedale was incorporated in 1968, according to the City of Collegedale website, which states: “The city has experienced steady growth over its history and enjoys a rich and diverse culture anchored by Southern Adventist University and being a suburban community of Chattanooga and the Tri-State region.” Since 2020, the city’s population has increased by 10.99%, according to the World Population Review.
By extending sidewalks and adding trees and benches, Barto hopes to revamp the area so “it would look like you are driving into an old-town square.”
David Barto, executive director and founder of Collegedale Tomorrow Foundation Inc., said the organization has big plans for Apison Pike. He and his team plan to accumulate the area along Four Corners and parts of Little Debbie Parkway in hopes of transforming the town. By extending sidewalks and adding trees and benches, Barto hopes to revamp the area so “it would look like you are driving into an old-town square.”
The foundation’s goal is to buy the complexes at Four Corners in small phases in order not to lose the area’s smaller, family-owned businesses, said Barto. The foundation’s “master plan” includes turning the single-story strip malls on Apison Pike into three-story complexes.
The first floor will remain restaurants and businesses, while the second and third floors will be apartments, according to Barto. The master plan for Four Corners at Apison Pike will hopefully be done by mid-December, he said.
“It’ll go to the city commissioners maybe in January,” he explained. “If they adopt it, then it’s a matter of finding investors who want to buy parcels and start implementing the plan.”
When asked about the time of completion for the plan, Johnson said: “Well, we have to see the total drawing of the concept, but I would imagine getting donor money to help build some of this, and the businesses, as well. I’m hoping probably within the next year or two we’ll see something.”
The land surrounding the intersection of Apison Pike and Ooltewah Ringgold Road, commonly known as Four Corners, is becoming more valuable than what is currently there, said Barto. That is why he wants to “rethink” the land by implementing a master plan and encouraging developers to help give the area a major facelift.
“If you have a master plan, then you could show people what it could look like and what is possible,” Barto said.
“The Four Corners needs to be re-evaluated and designed. It’s been there for years, and it’s kind of worn out.”
The cost to develop the plan was $144,500, and Barto raised all of it from a variety of different investors, he explained. He is not sure at the moment how much the final total will be to conduct the full plan, but, according to Barto, none of the money will come from taxpayer dollars. Barto said all of the money will be raised and donated from investors.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) made a plan to widen the city’s main road, Apison Pike, in all directions through different phases, starting back in 2012, according to the Tennessee government website.
“The majority of the existing route [on Apison Pike] is a two-lane highway with negligible shoulders. The proposed design includes widening the roadway between three and five lanes, depending on location,” the website states.
In his interview with the Accent, Barto said the widening of Apison Pike has limited the parking for businesses near the Apison Pike and Ooltewah Ringgold Road intersection.
“The Four Corners needs to be re-evaluated and designed,” said Tim Johnson, Collegedale vice mayor in an interview with the Accent. “It’s been there for years, and it’s kind of worn out.”
Barto said, “There’s a lot of old stuff that’s sitting on too much parking.”
He and his team plan to eliminate some of the extra parking space to create more room for businesses.
“It’s just too much of a waste of space,” he said.
For example, the old Rite-Aid building on the corner of one of the strip malls has been empty for six to seven years, wrote Wayon Hines, Collegedale city manager, in an email to the Accent.
“We can’t directly correlate the structure being vacant with an effect on the corner, but intuitively the anchor being vacant did not improve business or traffic to the center,” he wrote.
The Rite-Aid was purchased by the pharmaceutical chain, Walgreens, according to its website. A problem with the Rite-Aid building is its size, Barto said. It is too small for some businesses and too large for others, so Collegedale Tomorrow plans to tear the building down.
“Where the parking lot is on the front side, that’s where the new building would go,” Barto said.
Although not sure what will move into the building at this time, he expects it will be a retail business.
In 1998, the city and a local philanthropist developed a master plan for Four Corners, according to Barto. But they ran into a problem because, at the time, Collegedale restaurants could not have or sell alcohol. A lot of food businesses could not make much money when the city’s alcohol restriction was in place, Barto explained. However, the situation has changed.
“Wine sales are [now] 40% of most restaurants’ gross sales and even more of their profit margin,” Barto said.
The goal is to have the Four Corners area redeveloped within the next few years.
“Why would you want to go to Collegedale when you could go across the street in Ooltewah and be in Chattanooga?” he added.
The city did not receive the funds it needed to go forward with its original plan in 1998, but Barto expects this time to be different. The goal is to have the Four Corners area redeveloped within the next few years.
