4/21/2004

Chattanooga, TN—During the City Council’s Legal and Legislative committee meting this afternoon, Mayor Bob Corker unveiled the dramatic design for the First Street Pedestrian Bridge which will link the Waterfront District to the Bluff View Arts District via First Street.

Stroud Watson, Director of the Urban Design Center joined Mayor Corker in describing the bridge which will not only serve an important function for the 21st Century Waterfront Plan, but will be a piece of distinctive public art for the city.

The concept of connecting the Bluff View Arts district into the downtown was conceived during the public meetings in 2002 where the fundamental components of the Waterfront Plan were developed.  The bridge was designed through a collaborative process by the Planning and Design Center, Hargreaves and Associates, Randall Stout architects and DWH architects.

The two pylons that support the walkway are concrete forms that are a visual reflection of the geologic shape and texture of the Tennessee River Bluffs.  Close inspection of the concrete form confirms that their look and feel complements the rock bluffs on which the Hunter Museum of American Art sits.

The walkway is a high technology structure that incorporates steel, light weight concrete, structural glass and stainless steel wire that connects the Walnut Street Square through the geologic forms of the pylons onto the sculpture garden at the Hunter. This sequence continues to a public overview looking onto the bluffs and the river. 

The bridge’s final design is an interpretation that reflects both the natural environment that surrounds it and the technology of the Walnut Street Bridge that will be adjacent to it.

At night the walkway surface will appear as single lighted plane suspended in space connecting public places of activity.

The 21st Century Waterfront Plan was borne out of tremendous community participation and created in public meetings in February 2002.  The waterfront plan represents the largest public/private undertaking in a community known for such partnerships, with funding divided between the public and private sectors, including $56 million from a dedicated lodging tax and $49 million which was raised through the generosity of the private sector.  The plan does not rely on any funding from the City of Chattanooga’s general fund.

The Waterfront Plan includes major expansions of the Tennessee Aquarium, the Hunter Museum of Art and an extensive renovation of the Creative Discovery Museum.  On the south shore, the project includes the creation of public green spaces at Ross’s Landing Park; riverfront mooring facilities; the connection of the art district to the downtown via First Street and a new pedestrian bridge; the creation of a new City Pier; a narrowed Riverfront Parkway that better accommodates pedestrian traffic; a passage-way underneath the Parkway which connects the Aquarium Plaza to the river; and additional parking facilities. 

On the north shore, the development of property adjacent to Coolidge Park will feature additional public spaces and the preservation of a natural wetland.

In addition to the projects outlined in the plan, several parcels have been set aside which will allow for immediate on-site private development, bringing additional housing and retail units to the urban core.  One developer has already purchased the “Smokestack Lot” and will soon begin construction of a $17 million mixed-use development featuring residential, retail and a public parking facility.
Through the extraordinary support of those who have contributed to the Waterfront Trust, the transformative $120 million Waterfront Plan will be fully complete by May 2005.

For more information, contact Todd Womack, Communications Director, at 423-757-5168

DESIGN FOR FIRST STREET PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE: