Tennessee Drops Birmingham Highway Site for New Moccasin Bend Mental Health Hospital

Tennessee officials have reversed course on plans to build a replacement for Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute on Birmingham Highway.

The Tennessee Department of General Services announced Monday afternoon that the state will no longer move forward with the proposed site at 1001 Birmingham Highway in Chattanooga.

“After further deliberation, the Tennessee Department of General Services (DGS) has decided not to move forward with plans to build a replacement hospital for Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute at 1001 Birmingham Highway in Chattanooga,” the department said.

DGS said it will continue working with the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, along with state, city and county leaders, to consider other locations for the replacement hospital.

The decision comes just days after state officials announced the Birmingham Highway property, located a short distance north of the Georgia-Tennessee state line and Dade County, had been selected for the new facility.

Search for New Hospital Continues

Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute opened in 1961 and serves patients from 52 counties across East Tennessee.

The existing facility has 150 adult psychiatric beds and primarily treats people with severe and persistent mental illness, including patients admitted on an emergency involuntary basis.

The state has been working for years to replace the aging hospital.

Earlier plans called for constructing a new and expanded hospital on the existing Moccasin Bend property. Those plans became the subject of controversy because of the area’s historical, archaeological and Native American significance.

An archaeological review released in 2024 found that approximately 73% of the state-owned hospital property contained buried historic and pre-contact materials, including evidence of Woodland-period occupation.

No human remains were identified during the survey, although archaeologists said some areas could potentially contain previously undiscovered burials.

Following that review, Governor Bill Lee announced in September 2024 that Tennessee would abandon plans to build the replacement hospital on the existing Moccasin Bend property and search for another location.

The Birmingham Highway property was selected as that alternative before the state reversed its decision Monday.

Local Leaders Disappointed

Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp expressed disappointment with the state’s decision.

“I’m extremely disappointed, particularly considering the widespread support for the site recently purchased by the state,” Wamp said.

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly’s administration also expressed disappointment, saying local leaders had spent years working to identify a suitable location.

“The Kelly administration has worked diligently for years alongside our other local partners to secure a new site, so we are deeply disappointed in this decision,” the mayor’s office said.

Kelly’s office said it hopes the state can quickly identify another acceptable location and pledged to continue assisting with the process.

The proposed replacement hospital was expected to have capacity for as many as 200 beds, compared with 150 beds at the existing Moccasin Bend facility.

State officials have not announced what other properties are being considered or provided a timetable for selecting another site.