CHICKAMAUGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The City of Chickamauga has accepted a four-million-dollar EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant to help clean up the former Crystal Springs Mill property.
The textile mill, located near downtown Chickamauga, sat vacant for years after the factory closed. The buildings were later demolished, but city leaders say environmental contamination remains on the site.
Officials said the federal grant will allow the city to remove that contamination and prepare the property for future redevelopment.
While there are no confirmed plans for the site, Mayor Evittte Parrish said the city is already working toward the next phase of the project and is required to meet the grant’s timeline.
“That grant does have a timeline on it. We are required to do what we said we would do in that grant in four years. So you should see some real movement, which will be much quicker than most government paces.”
The mayor said the city could move into the next phase as early as October and is working to schedule a planning meeting.
City leaders say the cleanup is an important step toward creating new opportunities for the long vacant property and bringing new development to the area.
