State officials announced Wednesday afternoon that the new site for the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute will be on a 49-acre parcel on Birmingham Highway in Lookout Valley.
Officials said it is located in close proximity to I-24 and the urban core of Chattanooga and only a few miles from the current site. It is adjacent to the Koch Foods feed mill, which sold the property to the state. It is also near the south end of Wauhatchie Pike.
It was identified after a search of over three years, covering 127 sites across nine East Tennessee counties.
The new hospital will have capacity for up to 200 beds.
Click here for audio of the announcement.
Officials said they are confident they will be able to complete the project within the original budget of $260 million appropriated by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2022.
The design process is to continue through the end of 2027 with construction starting in early 2028 and lasting about two and a half years.
City Councilman Chip Henderson said he learned only today that the state plans to relocate the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Lookout Valley.
He said, “I am deeply disappointed to just learn that the State has purchased land on Birmingham Highway (Highway 11 that leads to Wildwood and Trenton, Ga.) for the purpose of relocating the Moccasin Bend Mental Health facility to this location.
“I have serious concerns starting with the impact on our community.
“I will be sharing my concerns and speaking with state officials on this matter during a press conference they have slated for this afternoon.”
He also said, “I certainly support mental health services.
This was put together under the cloak of secrecy. Neither the community nor I was engaged and that’s not democracy. This will have an impact on the community, from traffic to safety concerns.”
State Mental Health Commissioner Marie Williams said the project moved along quickly in recent days, and she said she was sorry that Lookout Valley officials were not included. She said efforts will be made to get their input.
One concern she said she has heard is that Highway 11 at the site is very narrow. A railroad overpass nearby is barely wide enough for two cars to go through at the same time.
Mary Young, institute CEO, said the facility “was state of the art in 1961. But we’re a long way from 1961. The psychiatric landscape has changed tremendously.”
She added, “This building presents tremendous challenges and yet we provide outstanding care for our patients.”
She said the hospital has about 500 employees.
State official John Hull said the site that was chosen “was not on the market,” but he said Koch Foods agreed to work with the state to make the deal possible. He said the location has a similar view of Lookout Mountain as the current site and is just a few miles away. He said it is the right size needed and is close to I-24.
State Senator Bo Watson, who was instrumental in gaining the funding along with former Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, said the site “checks all the boxes.” He said it was a victory for conservation in Chattanooga.
Mayor Tim Kelly said his first trip as mayor was to Nashville at a time when the state had decided to rebuild at the same site. He said he advised, “Please don’t do that.”
He said the Moccasin Bend site “will be the gem of our already great park system.”
County Mayor Weston Wamp said his family before him had been involved in the fight to “Save Moccasin Bend.”
Proponents of a national park at historic Moccasin Bend have long sought the removal of the mental health facility. A number of members of the Moccasin Bend Task Force that began to study the Bend and an area trail system in the 1990s were at the press conference.
After a long campaign, Governor Bill Lee earlier announced that a new location would be sought.
Other sections of the Bend have been placed in a Moccasin Bend National Archeological District.
Excavations at the Bend have shown evidence of human habitation there for 12,000 years.
The state is estimating the replacement cost at over $276 million. Mayor Kelly offered several Chattanooga sites earlier and said he believed it could be built at one of those at between $130 million to $200 million.
Tricia Mims with National Park Partners said, “National Park Partners of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Moccasin Bend celebrate today’s announcement of a new location for the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute. We are grateful to Governor Bill Lee and Commissioner Marie Williams for their commitment to relocating this important facility, built decades prior to the creation of the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District. We appreciate the efforts of our Hamilton County legislative delegation to balance the significant workforce benefits a local hospital provides with the need to protect this landscape containing Chattanooga’s 12,000-year history. We thank Mayor Tim Kelly and Mayor Weston Wamp for their roles in achieving this win-win outcome that will benefit Chattanooga and Hamilton County for generations to come.
“The results of archaeological studies recommended by the Moccasin Bend Task Force in the 1980’s launched the first Save the Bend movement to protect the Indigenous resources on Moccasin Bend threatened by development and looting. The nonprofit Friends of Moccasin Bend National Park was established in 1995 and achieved that preservation goal when the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District Act passed in 2003. With the Friends of Moccasin Bend National Park now under the banner of National Park Partners, we share our joy with countless partners, donors, board members, volunteers, and staff whose dedication and support throughout the years make days like today possible. We are thankful for our relationships with nearly two dozen federally-recognized American Indian Tribes whose ancestral ties form the foundation of Chattanooga’s story. We salute our board member Emeritus, former Congressman Zach Wamp, who authored the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District Act and worked tirelessly to pass the legislation. We remember the late Shelley Andrews, Major McCullough, and Troy Wayne Poteete, whose dedication to preserving and promoting Moccasin Bend’s cultural legacy lives on through National Park Partners.
“Today marks a major milestone in realizing the decades-long community vision of a world class National Park site on Moccasin Bend. We thank the State of Tennessee for fulfilling their commitment to relocate the nonconforming uses on Moccasin Bend’s culturally significant landscape, as agreed upon by city, county, and state government entities during the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District Act negotiations. We look forward to continuing to work with all of our public and private partners to complete the promise of a fully interpreted, historic and cultural asset for residents and visitors to enjoy, forever.”
There was a movement in the 1950s to establish a Moccasin Bend National Park, but Governor Frank Clement blocked it when he took office in 1953.
The mental hospital was then placed at the site in 1961. Also sited at the Bend were a regional sewage treatment plant, a golf course, a shooting range and other uses.
The state listed:
How We Got Here
• Spring 2022 – In the FY23 budget, the Tennessee General Assembly appropriated $260M funding to build a new inpatient psychiatric hospital to replace Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute.
• Summer 2023 – An extensive review looking at dozens of sites determined Moccasin Bend was the best option.
• September 2023 – State Building Commission approved Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute replacement project pending the results of an archaeological survey of the Moccasin Bend site.
• Summer 2024 – Results of archaeological survey showed significant presence of pre-historic artifacts, therefore it was decided to pursue a site other than Moccasin Bend.
• Fall 2024 – Summer 2026 – Exhaustive search continued with various candidate sites identified but no purchase completed due to various issues.
• January 2026 – Birmingham Highway site was identified as suitable location.
• June 2026 – Hamilton County Delegation approved moving forward with purchase.
• August 2026 – State Building Commission Executive Subcommittee approved purchase.
• September 2026 – Department of General Services closed on purchase of Birmingham Highway property.
Those taking part in the 3 p.m. press conference at the mental hospital included:
Commissioner Marie Williams (Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services)
CEO Mary Young (Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute)
Commissioner Andy Kidd (Department of General Services)
Deputy Commissioner John Hull (Department of General Services)
Senator Bo Watson
County Mayor Weston Wamp
Mayor Tim Kelly