Northgate Mall Redevelopment in Hixson: What Comes First

"No timeline on the master plan, but we are working with the city on the utility project and expect that project to start in the next 2 years."

Jon Meshel of CBL Properties said that on August 30, after the last of three community sessions on the future of Northgate Mall. All summer, Hixson talked about green space, a town square and a new library. CBL answered with one date, and it belongs to the pipes.

That sentence sorts out a lot of the confusion around Northgate. One part of the project has a signed deal, a dollar figure and deadlines years out. The rest is still a concept. If you shop at Belk or fill up at BJ's this fall, the first change you see on the site will probably be utility work, not a ribbon cutting.

The Part With Deadlines Is Underground

The Chattanooga City Council approved a $15.2 million tax increment financing district for Northgate on December 2, 2025. The Industrial Development Board gave final approval in March 2026. It covers the water, wastewater and stormwater systems that serve the mall and the properties around it.

The schedule attached to that deal is the most specific thing anyone has published about Northgate:

1. Design. Developers get 15 months for design once the deal is fully approved. With final approval in March 2026, design work runs to about mid-2027.
2. Main lines. Most of the infrastructure and waterline work must be finished by December 31, 2028.
3. Full completion. The overall project is targeted for 2031.
4. Repayment. City and county repayments begin in 2033.

Meshel's estimate that the utility work will start "in the next 2 years" fits that sequence. Design comes first, then construction, and the main lines are due before 2029.

Who Pays, and Who Ends Up Owning the Pipes

Under the TIF, CBL pays for the infrastructure up front. It gets that money back from future tax increments, meaning the extra tax revenue the site produces as it is redeveloped. The city's September 2025 presentation, marked as a proposal, estimated the deal at $15 million. That was about $5 million from city and county property-tax increment plus a request for $10 million in sales-tax increment. The approved figure ended up at $15.2 million.

Ownership is the detail that gets missed. Once the work is done, the sewer and stormwater lines go to the City of Chattanooga and the water lines go to Hixson Utility District. Whatever gets built on top, the public systems underneath will belong to the city and the utility district. The redevelopment also depends on them. The Friends of Hixson announcement for the August session described the redevelopment as following the replacement of the mall's aging sewer infrastructure. Nothing goes up until the lines go in.

Everything Above Ground Is Still a Concept

CBL's stated plan is to demolish most of the interior mall and rebuild the site as an open-air town center. The plan keeps Belk, Old Navy, Ulta, BJ's Wholesale, Culver's and the former JCPenney building. That gives a shape for the site. It doesn't give a schedule. Here is where the visible pieces stood after August 30:

• The master plan. It has no timeline, by CBL's own account. In November 2025, WDEF reported a CBL estimate that demolishing the mall structure was about three to six years away. The August 2026 comments replaced that range with no timeline at all.
• The library. On January 6, 2026, the City Council passed a resolution urging the Industrial Development Board to have CBL reserve land or building space for a new Hixson library branch at Northgate. Local 3 reported that the resolution encouraged those terms but did not require CBL to include them. No site, size or date for a branch has been announced.
• The former JCPenney building. It stays standing in the concept. No future use has been announced for it.
• The mix of uses. Meshel said CBL is "actively contemplating a mixed-use project." On housing as part of that mix, he said, "We're not proposing anything, and we're not not proposing anything."

No closing date for the interior concourse or start date for demolition has been published. Any date you hear for either is a guess.

What Hixson Put on the Record This Summer

The community sessions matter because they happened while all of those pieces are still open. Friends of Hixson held the series. The second meeting was in July at Valleybrook Golf Club, and the third was at Burks United Methodist Church on August 30, under the theme "Get Your Voice Heard."

At the Valleybrook meeting, attendees asked for more retail and entertainment, new park and green space, and better pedestrian and vehicle access across the site. At the final session, WTVC reported that some residents favored outdoor gathering areas and a town-center format.

Local officials have pointed to Cambridge Square in Ooltewah as the kind of mixed-use town center they have in mind, combining retail, entertainment and public green space. "Northgate Mall has long been an important part of Hixson, and this visioning session gives the community a direct voice in the conversation about its future," said Greg Taylor, president of Friends of Hixson, as The Chattanoogan reported.

All of that input goes into one document. The next step is a report to the Industrial Development Board that pulls together what was said at all three meetings. Because the TIF schedule puts design ahead of construction, the community report and the infrastructure design work are moving forward at the same time.

The Corridor Around It Follows the Same Pattern

The same split shows up along the roads near the mall. The changes Hixson can already see are individual businesses. The larger public plans are still in the design stage.

BJ's Wholesale Club opened at 401 Northgate Mall Drive on January 30, two weeks after its gas station opened on January 14. Club manager Dave Shaw said the company was "thrilled to be part of the community." BJ's is one of the anchors that stays in CBL's concept, so the newest store at Northgate is already part of whatever comes next.

On Highway 153, a 6,008-square-foot Chick-fil-A with double drive-through lanes was under construction at 5979 Highway 153 in July. It is replacing the Oak Park Town Center location. That July report said rent was set to start in September. We haven't seen a confirmed opening date, so check before you plan a lunch around it.

The city's Hixson Pike Safety Improvements project is collecting feedback on lane layouts, sidewalks, parking and pedestrian safety between Tremont and Dorchester and Barton Avenue at Riverview Town Center. The city says it hasn't set a construction start or duration. That makes two big Hixson projects shaped by public input this year, and neither has a date for anything you can see from the road.

Outside the mall, the fall calendar runs on its own schedule. Hixson Center at 5401 School Drive hosts its Third Annual Trunk or Treat on Saturday, October 31, from 4 to 7 p.m. The ChattSmash fall badminton tournament is there October 24 and 25. A few miles away, Moser Manor Farms opened on Kamin Road off Hixson Pike with a ribbon cutting on May 29.

For Northgate, the only firm dates are December 31, 2028, when most of the water, sewer and stormwater lines are due, and 2031, when the full infrastructure project should be finished.

If you own a home near Northgate and want to know how a redevelopment this early is likely to factor into your home's value, the team at Putnam Property Group is glad to walk through it with you. We'll start with what's actually committed. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll update you as the Industrial Development Board report and CBL's plans become public.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.