Provident Place seeks city donation of Airport Inn to house families experiencing homelessness

Presenters from the McClellan Foundation and First Things First asked the Chattanooga City Council to donate the Airport Inn property to a nonprofit to operate Provident Place, a family shelter and affordable-housing project focused on children living with their families in homelessness.

David Denmark of the McClellan Foundation told the council that the school district’s federal definition of homelessness shows "over 1,400 children in Hamilton County" are experiencing homelessness and that Provident Place would target some of the most vulnerable families. "Everything we talk about today is about children experiencing homelessness with their families," Denmark said.

The proposal would add 124 beds and 10 cribs for families, creating a significant expansion over current family-shelter capacity. Presenters said the city currently has 124 family beds across four providers, that the coalition estimates a need of 385 beds (leaving a shortfall of 261), and that Provident Place’s addition would bring the citywide family-shelter total to 206 beds.

Organizers asked the city to transfer (donate) the Airport Inn property to a charitable entity established in 2013 that would govern operations through a 12-member board. Presenters said the donation would include a deed clause that reverts the property to the city if it ceases to be used for shelter or affordable housing.

Presenters outlined costs and fundraising: Phase 1 renovation estimates of about $3.3 million, Phase 2 affordable-housing work of roughly $800,000, and annual operating costs of $1,450,000. They said $2.5 million in cash had already been raised and local businesses pledged more than $600,000 in products and services.

First Things First, which presenters said would operate Provident Place, described intake, case management and post-transition coaching. Lauren Hall (First Things First) said the operator plans to build rehab housing pathways to move families into alternative housing within 90–120 days and to provide case management and family support coaching for up to a year after families leave the shelter.

On safety, presenters said the operation would use coordinated entry referrals, conduct background checks to exclude sex offenders and recent violent offenders, maintain a zero-tolerance drug policy, and install perimeter fencing, cameras and controlled entry. They said private security would provide armed overnight coverage (described as from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m.) and that the security system would be assessed in coordination with the city police department and linked to the local Real Time Information Center (ARRTIC).

Council members repeatedly praised the proposal as a local, private-public-philanthropic approach and voiced broad support; several members asked questions about federal funding rules, bedroom-count requirements and the level of overnight security. Presenters said some federal funding rules (which can separate shelter populations by sex at certain ages) informed but did not prevent a family-centered shelter design.

Presenters said they had notified the Severedale neighborhood association, Severedale Baptist Church and Academy and nearby businesses; they asked the council to host a community meeting before June 17. Council members agreed to place the item on "future considerations" to follow the city’s normal process before a formal vote and to hold the requested community meeting.

No formal council vote on the Airport Inn donation or an operational contract was taken at the meeting; presenters were directed to continue outreach and fundraising, and staff were asked to schedule the item for future council consideration.

Next steps: organizers plan a community meeting before June 17, and, if the council approves the transfer in a future meeting, presenters said they will issue an RFP for construction and operational funding.