Almost everyone in Hamilton County knows someone who is currently—or has been—a part of the INCubator. This isn’t just a building to us; it is the birthplace of Chattanooga’s modern small-business economy. Since its inception, the INCubator has been a vital resource, helping entrepreneurs transform their visions into viable businesses and creating thousands of jobs for our community.

Now, the Hamilton County Commission is proposing to sell the Business Development Center (BDC) property to developers. This threatens to dismantle 34 active businesses and the very fabric of our local economy.

A Betrayal of a Public Gift The county is treating the BDC like an unwanted expense, but it was a gift. In 1984, the American Lava Group donated this massive facility to the county specifically to be an economic engine. The county was entrusted as a steward of a community asset, not a real estate flipper. Demolishing a donated public gift to hand prime real estate to private condo developers is a direct betrayal of that 40-year public trust.

An Engineered Crisis The county claims the building is a waste of tax dollars, yet they signed a 10-year lease renewal in 2024. Following this, the county purposefully delayed maintenance support, causing manufacturing suites to lose basic HVAC capabilities. The county forced vacancies and blocked rentals, creating the exact financial strain they are now using as an excuse to demolish the building. You cannot starve a building of resources and then blame the businesses for its condition.

Erasing Diversity and Local Grit According to the U.S. SBA, small businesses are responsible for 65% of new jobs. Yet, the county’s recent mandate to focus only on high-tech "scalable" businesses targets and excludes minority and service-based founders. Furthermore, you cannot build a Department of Defense robotics contract, run heavy-lifting logistics, or scale consumer goods out of a standard corporate office. Privatizing the BDC will push out minority owners, advanced manufacturing, and vital support programs for local restaurants and consumer packaged goods like the PROOF Incubator.

Our Demands: Protecting hubs like the BDC is not just an investment in infrastructure; it is an investment in the future of Chattanooga. We call on the Hamilton County Commission to protect the business leaders who built this city. We demand that you:

1.Honor the 10-year lease signed in 2024.

2. Commit to asking state, federal and local government and philanthropic partners for support in funding facility improvements

And if the county won’t do that then donate the BDC to the Chamber since it was originally donated to the county in the first place. Thus allowing entrepreneurs and the business community to chart their own destiny.