Athens-based University of Georgia is collaborating with Catoosa County to develop future uses for the CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia building as the hospital plans to move to a Fort Oglethorpe location, the Chattanooga Free Press reported Jan. 1.
The move had been delayed as Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Parkridge Hospital appealed on the grounds that the new hospital would duplicate its services in the region. Parkridge dropped the appeal in December, greenlighting CHI Memorial to move.
The county is now debating on the uses of the CHI Memorial building once the new Fort Oglethorpe location opens in 2025.
Some residents have proposed the new location house a VA hospital or mental health hospital; however, this would require collaboration from other entities and funding the county does not have.
Tommie Shepard, a public services associate with the university, proposed that the site could be used as a residential development, commercial space or mixed-use development, according to the report.