Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute to Relocate Just North of Dade County Line in Lookout Valley $260 Million Project

Tennessee officials have announced that Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute will relocate to Birmingham Highway in Chattanooga’s Lookout Valley community, just north of the Dade County, Georgia, line, with the new facility expected to open around 2030.

The replacement hospital will be built on a 49-acre property near Interstate 24, placing the new facility just a short distance from Dade County and only a few miles from the institute’s current location.

The new facility will have 200 psychiatric beds, an increase of 50 beds over the existing hospital. The project is expected to remain within the $260 million budget approved by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2022.

State officials say the design process will continue through 2027, with construction expected to begin in early 2028 and take approximately two and a half years.

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the Department of General Services spent more than three years searching for a suitable location. The State Building Commission’s Executive Subcommittee approved the Birmingham Highway property purchase in August, and the sale closed in September.

Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute currently serves 52 counties across East Tennessee. Founded in Chattanooga in 1961, the hospital provides inpatient psychiatric care for adults, including patients experiencing severe mental illness.

The relocation will also create an opportunity to preserve the historic Moccasin Bend property. A 2024 investigation found that expansion of the existing hospital was restricted because of buried archaeological materials.

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said the project will provide continuity of mental health care and employment while allowing the community to pursue preservation of the existing site as a public historic park.

Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp said the move also creates an opportunity to preserve more of Moccasin Bend and advance the long-standing vision for its place within the National Park System.

The proposed Lookout Valley location has raised concerns among some residents and local officials. Chattanooga City Councilman Chip Henderson has publicly expressed concerns about the potential impact on the surrounding community.

State officials expect the new $260 million, 200-bed hospital just north of the Dade County line to begin serving patients around 2030.