Chattanooga IDB Meeting March 2, 2026: Northgate TIF Agreement Approved with Conditions
Chattanooga Industrial Development Board Meeting – March 2, 2026
The Chattanooga Industrial Development Board (IDB) met on March 2, 2026, to approve a development and tax increment financing (TIF) agreement for the Northgate Mall infrastructure project. The meeting included public comments on TIF policy improvements, staff presentations, board discussion on financial due diligence, and a vote to approve the resolution subject to conditions regarding the developer’s standing with the Tennessee Department of Revenue. New board member David Hudson was introduced.
Consent Calendar
- The board unanimously approved the minutes from the February 2026 meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Helen Burns Sharp, founder of Accountability for Taxpayer Money (ATM), spoke as a citizen and former community development director. She advocated for tighter TIF policies, suggesting that the IDB and city council receive staff reports with answers to key questions earlier in the process. She questioned the appropriate amount of public investment and whether alternative tools (e.g., assessment districts) would be more equitable. She also urged that city council have a clearly defined role in reviewing development agreements before they reach the IDB, noting that council had requested a robust public engagement process for the Northgate project. She emphasized that her comments were “good government questions,” not anti-development.
Discussion Items
- Northgate Mall Infrastructure Project – Development and Tax Incentive Agreement
- Staff Presentation: Winston Brooks, Director of Economic Development, presented the proposed agreement with Hickson Mall LLC (a CBL affiliate) for infrastructure improvements on approximately 71.43 acres at the Northgate site. The project includes replacing private water, sewer, and stormwater systems to meet public standards and facilitate mixed-use redevelopment. Key details: estimated cost ~$10.3 million, maximum debt obligation $8.7 million plus interest, reimbursed through TIF and sales tax contributions. The city retains its base property and sales taxes. The agreement incorporates city council’s January 6, 2026 resolution urging community engagement. Design deadline: 15 months from effective date; Phase 1 completion by Dec 31, 2028; overall project by Dec 31, 2031.
- Board Discussion: Board members raised several concerns:
- The application’s bankruptcy disclosure: Hickson Mall LLC was not the bankrupt entity; parent CBL’s bankruptcy (Chapter 11, closed in 2022) was known and disclosed.
- Standing with Tennessee Department of Revenue: A board member noted that the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website listed Hickson Mall LLC as “not in good standing” with the Department of Revenue. The board requested an explanation. Attorney Mark Mamantoff (Asperion Sims) stated that the city’s standard practice is to verify good standing before closing, and the agreement includes representations and warranties that the entity is in good standing. He noted that such issues are often minor filing problems.
- Amendment to the Resolution: The board discussed adding conditions. The motion was amended to require notification of why the entity is not in good standing by March 7, 2026, and that the development agreement will not be signed until the good standing issue is resolved. If notification is not provided, the resolution will be reconsidered at the April 2026 meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
- Public Comment on the Resolution: City Council member Jeff Davis (District 3, where the project is located) appeared and expressed support for the project, noting cooperation between the city and CBL and CBL’s commitment to attend his quarterly town halls for public engagement.
- Annual Compliance Report on TIFs and PILOTs: A board member inquired about the schedule for compliance updates. Staff reported that an annual report on active TIFs and PILOTs is typically presented to the IDB and city council in June, following state reporting deadlines and validation of job creation data.
- Update on “The Bend” Project: A board member asked about a substantial change in ownership at “The Bend” and its potential impact on the TIF agreement. Attorney Mamantoff said the city is analyzing a complex ownership structure and cannot yet confirm if a change of control occurred. He indicated the developer is required to provide an update to the board, likely in April or May 2026. The board asked that correspondence on the matter be shared.
Key Outcomes
- Approved Resolution (Northgate TIF Agreement), with amendments:
- Correction of typographical errors (date and spelling).
- Addition of a condition: “There shall be notification of why Hickson Mall LLC is not in good standing with the state of Tennessee Department of Revenue by March 7, 2026, or this resolution shall be reconsidered by the board at its meeting in April 2026. This development agreement will not be signed until the good standing is resolved with the state of Tennessee Department of Revenue.”
- The motion passed unanimously (voice vote, all in favor).
- Next Steps: Staff will report on compliance status of TIFs and PILOTs in June 2026. The board will receive an update on “The Bend” project in the coming months.
Meeting Transcript
Call the meeting of the March IDB to order. Confirmation of meeting advertisement, and we have a quorum present. Thank you all for that. And before we get into the minutes and everything, I want to introduce David Hudson. It's his first meeting, newest member of the board here. So welcome, David. I'll allow you a few minutes to introduce yourself. So glad to be here and looking forward to serving with you all. Thank you. Thank you again. Welcome. Next, we'll move into the approval of our minutes from the February meeting. All those in favor? Next, I'll move into anybody looking to address the board this morning. Is there anybody here today to address the board? Last month I gave an update on our E2I2 project, a status update on the construction of that. And I have some answers for you today. I didn't have them in time to get them on the agenda, but I didn't want to wait another month. I wanted to make sure you knew what we were doing. So looking at just jobs that were created by the project, there were 39 local hires that the contractor and subcontractors put under this construction job. But the bigger part of this is the amount of investment that is was made with local vendors, whether it's material supplies, whether it's concrete, steel, things like that, equipment uh rentals and also equipment purchases like pumps and other things. That tolled over 39 million dollars. So 39.7 roughly million dollars has been spent with local vendors and equipment uh uh professionals to make sure that this project is getting off the ground. So that's a pretty significant amount of money. The uh our other project that we are doing in partnership with the IDB, uh the Class A Power Project will be similar numbers, but we're very early in the design phase on that. It's kind of too early to tell. Uh but that project is actually a larger um dollar amount and I and and similar construction. We're talking about large concrete tanks and pumps and things like that. So I suspect it's going to be rather similar in nature. Uh, we'll report on that as soon as we have that information. Thank you. Martin tell them that is regeneration of natural gas usage that you're talking about. Yeah, so the the Class A power projects is where we'll we will be taking the the methane that we already produce with our with our process and actually converting that to electricity. So that's actually going to reduce our energy consumption, reduce strain on the grid, and reduce our electric bill at the plant. So operationally, it'll be a reduction in our operational costs going forward, and also providing that stability for the grid in the area as well. So that's a it's a big project as a big impact, and it actually helps beyond our our fence as well. So thank you. You made a presentation to us about that a few years ago, didn't you? I did, yes. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Madam Chair, members of the board, my name is Helen Burns Sharp, the founder of accountability for taxpayer money. I'm speaking of a si as a citizen and as someone who has followed Chattanooga's TIFF program during its 14-year history, and as a former community city community development director who worked on four TIFF projects in my career. I'm not anti-TIF. The city's TIFF policies have improved over the years. ATM has developed a short list of amendments we believe are needed to improve them further. I look forward to working with Sharida and Winston to see if they will become advocates for some of these changes. Now for a sneak preview, since the Northgate TIFF is on your agenda today, I will briefly refer to it as I make my comments. Two of the suggested policy changes that we're making is that we believe that by the time something gets to the IDB and to the city council, I don't want to say it's a done deal, but it's fully formed.
openpublica.com