GROWTH + OPPORTUNITY
Alton Park connector project expands to link three unique South Chattanooga neighborhoods
In 2018 Trust for Public Land (TPL) purchased an abandoned rail line with the vision of connecting historic Alton Park to Chattanooga’s Tennessee Riverwalk. Now the project is fully funded and has expanded to encompass two more distinct neighborhoods: Clifton Hills and East Lake.
Gaining Understanding + Building Support
From the beginning of the connector project, TPL has approached its work in Alton Park from a perspective of curiosity and genuine relationships. Instead of dictating its vision for the project, TPL prioritized community involvement, recognizing Alton Park’s complex history and longstanding challenges. Through extensive dialogue, they uncovered the residents’ deeper needs, which extended beyond a trail to broader neighborhood improvements, such as playground upgrades and tree planting. This approach resulted in a community-driven historical document, The Alton Park Connector, authored by resident Maria Noel, preserving the area’s rich cultural heritage. TPL’s inclusive model showcases a respectful approach to urban development and community rebuilding.
“This project marks an evolution in how we do our work,” says Noel Durant, TPL Associate Vice President and Tennessee State Director. “We’ve moved from entering into a community to complete a project to partnering with communities to understand how we fit and work together toward a shared vision.”
Staff have invested years building relationships within the neighborhood – and facilitating opportunities for neighbors to get to know one another. As they learned together, the project transformed from work on a trail to sharing a story. TPL and the City were well positioned to pursue an EPA Community Change Grant on the premise that this work could build from EPA’s clean up, not only protecting residents from harm, but providing a pathway to prosperity through better access to economic opportunity.
“We knew we had something special to share,” Durant says, “throughout the grant application and funding advocacy process we’ve centered on a neighborhood narrative – the story of a community.Maria’s work chronicling the Alton Park history from what the community was in its heyday to the environmental fallout was the foundation upon which we built our proposal, and then we layered on the community relationships the TPL team has been nurturing.”
Durant and Noel joined TPL staff for its Day on the Hill in Washington, DC, to help secure support.
“We met with Senator Blackburn and representatives for Congressman Fleishman and Senator Hagerty,” Noel says. “We talked about the importance of green spaces and parks in our communities and shared the story of what we’re doing in Chattanooga. Everyone was positive about the project, and alongside City of Chattanooga leadership, our advocacy led Congressman Fleischmann to secure $6 million of community project funding for the Alton Park Connector.”
Ultimately, what began with $2 million in private philanthropy to purchase the rail corridor, engage residents, and design the corridor has now yielded $26 million in federal funding with no match requirements along with a partnering commitment from the City of Chattanooga to prioritize this work. The outpouring of support means that the connector will link Alton Park not only with the Riverwalk, the South Broad Business District, and a new minor league baseball stadium, but also with nearby neighborhoods Clifton Hills and East Lake and urban agriculture at Crabtree Farms, expanding to become a 2.62-mile Clifton Hills Alton Park Trail Thread (CHATT).
Physical + Social Infrastructure
“CHATT will bridge three different cultures,” Noel says. “Alton Park is historically African American; Clifton Hills is predominantly Latino; and East Lake is one of Chattanooga’s most diverse mixed race communities. Since the beginning, our neighbors have been talking about the importance of access. Access for residents and other community members to visit the river, walk safely to school, bike to work, and explore other neighborhoods. Once this trail system opens, people who have always been cut off from one another and from community resources and economic opportunity will be connected.”
“If we were building a natural asset trail, we would simply follow South Chickamauga Creek and skip all the neighborhood connections,” Durant says. “Instead, CHATT focuses on physical and social infrastructure. Through the framing of this physical corridor, we are linking communities and enabling the building of relationships between them.”
Energy is building, and the trail will be complete in 2028. TPL continues to host activities at Southside Community park to bring people together from different neighborhoods in advance of their trail connection. Crabtree Farms is helping African American young people learn about urban farming and healthy food access, and Cocoa Cafe, scheduled to open in Alton Park in 2025 will feature a coffee shop, food truck commissary, kitchen incubator, and community space for gatherings.
“This is the most culturally diverse district in our city and county,” Noel says. “We have so much to learn from each other and this trail will help make that happen.”
Learn more about the Clifton Hills Alton Park Trail Thread here.