What exactly is going up on the 30 acres across from Christ United Methodist Church? The developers held a groundbreaking there on September 30, Chattanoogan.com reported, and the name on the project is The Collective. The press materials call it a lifestyle destination. The details tell a narrower story. The developers have been very specific about the public space at the center and much less specific about the businesses around it. Meanwhile, the road that leads to it has a firmer calendar than the project does.
For anyone who drives East Brainerd Road every day, that means the next year and a half will mostly bring road dates. A finished town green comes later.
The Part of the Plan With Real Detail
Kismet Holdings Group announced The Collective – Chattanooga on September 24. It's the first development from kismet | BP Collective, a new partnership between Kismet and BP Construction. The site sits on about 30 acres where East Brainerd Road meets Morris Hill Road. WDEF placed it across from Hurricane Creek. Hurricane Creek is the residential community there, not a park.
The announcement gets most concrete about what sits in the middle. According to the developers, the "heart" of the project will include:
- A signature community greenspace
- A covered performance stage
- An event lawn
- Outdoor gathering areas and dining patios
- Year-round programming for families, friends and visitors
The buildings around that green are described only by category. The list covers destination dining, wellness-focused businesses, entertainment venues, professional services and boutique retail. No restaurant, shop, grocer or gym has been named. The public materials also give no building count, no square footage and no first-opening date. Local 3's groundbreaking update said there is no exact timeline.
So the stage and the lawn are what East Brainerd can plan around today. The rest will fill in as leases are signed.
The Builder Behind Cambridge Square
The team explains why the plan starts with the green. BP Construction developed Cambridge Square in Ooltewah, and the announcement lists it among Chattanooga's most successful mixed-use destinations. The rest of the team, according to Tyson & Associates:
| Role | Firm |
|---|---|
| Developer partnership | kismet and BP Collective, made up of Kismet Holdings Group and BP Construction |
| Commercial general contractor | Tyson & Associates |
| Architect | MBI Companies |
The contractor calls this piece The Collective North, part of the larger The Collective Chattanooga name. Chad Morgan, managing partner of Kismet Holdings Group, told WDEF that the comparison is deliberate. He pointed to Cambridge Square for Ooltewah and Hamilton Place for the wider region, and said people "want something more local but more of a destination location for the residents here." In the Chattanoogan.com announcement, he put it more simply: "East Brainerd is getting its Glow Up."
WDEF put the investment at $150 million, with completion expected by early 2028. That is the developers' forecast for the whole project. Nobody has given a date for when the lawn might host its first event.
The Firmer Dates Belong to East Brainerd Road
The Collective's main frontage is on East Brainerd Road, which is also State Route 320. The road has its own plans. TDOT's SR-320 widening project covers East Brainerd Road from east of Bel-Air Road to Ooltewah-Ringgold Road. According to TDOT's 2023 public meeting presentation, the finished road would be:
- Five lanes with curb and gutter
- Six-foot shoulders that include bike lanes
- A two-foot grass strip and five-foot sidewalks
- Rebuilt at the Ooltewah-Ringgold Road intersection, with added turn lanes, two left-turn movements and a dedicated right turn
Here is how the corridor's dates line up as of mid-October 2026:
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| February 2, 2022 | Right-of-way funding approved for the widening | TDOT 2023 presentation |
| July 2023 | TDOT forecasts widening construction for about FY 26 | TDOT 2023 presentation |
| September 30, 2026 | The Collective breaks ground | WDEF |
| Now | Widening right-of-way acquisition underway | TDOT project page |
| Spring 2027, FY 2027 | Current TDOT forecast for widening construction | TDOT project page |
| Early 2028 | Developers' expected completion for The Collective | WDEF |
The construction forecast has already moved once. In 2023 it was FY 26. TDOT's current page says FY 2027, with Spring 2027 listed for construction, and shows no upcoming public meetings. Both projects sit on East Brainerd Road, and their forecast windows fall within about a year of each other. Neither TDOT nor the developers have publicly tied the two together, and the published announcements describe no traffic changes specific to The Collective site.
The October 23 Closure Belongs to a Third Project
The work that will affect drivers right away is neither of those. It's a TDOT contract to replace the SR-320 bridge over the CSX railroad, between mile markers 0.86 and 1.11, with Dement Construction as the contractor.
According to TDOT's October 16 roadway activity report, SR-320 will be closed between Prosperity Lane and Vance Road from 5 a.m. Friday, October 23, through 5 a.m. Monday, October 26. Crews will be installing storm drainage and clearing vegetation, and a signed detour will be posted. Weekday flagging for utility pole and overhead line relocation runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This is the third weekend this month that this stretch has closed. TDOT's earlier reports scheduled the same kind of closure from October 3 to 5 and again from October 10 to 12. If your plans for the weekend of October 23 use East Brainerd Road between Prosperity and Vance, the detour is the route until Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Place Keeps Adding
The comparison Morgan drew to Hamilton Place matters because that end of the corridor is still changing too. Ford's Garage was scheduled to open October 13 at 2102 Hamilton Place Boulevard, in the former Abuelo's building, Chattanoogan.com reported. It's an 8,000-square-foot restaurant with seating for about 250, styled after a 1920s service station, and it's the brand's first location in Tennessee.
Getting there comes with its own work zone. As of TDOT's October 8 report, the I-75 interchange work at Hamilton Place had the SR-153 southbound ramp to I-75 northbound down to one lane. Traffic shifts were affecting I-75 and the Shallowford Road ramps, Hamilton Loop Road was closed, and nightly lane closures ran from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The difference between the two ends is what the developers are betting on. Hamilton Place is adding national restaurants like Ford's Garage. The Collective's announcement leads with a lawn, a stage and year-round programming at Morris Hill Road, across from Hurricane Creek. Until tenants are named, that public space is the most concrete thing the project has promised.
If you live near the Morris Hill corner and are wondering what the next few years of construction mean for your street, your commute or your plans, Kyle Johnston Homes is happy to talk it through. We follow East Brainerd Road closely and will gladly share what we're seeing as The Collective takes shape. Let's Connect.
