Ooltewah - How much of a Town is it? (Chattanooga: hotels, new home)

[Bluebird9872]

When we were in the area earlier this month I know we drove thru Ooltewah, but I think it was just on I-75 on our way to Cleveland. I don't remember actually driving thru the town. Now, we are interested in a house there and are trying to see what the town actually consists of. Like grocery stores, I did a search on the Yellow Pages and not one showed up. I did a search on this forum, but mostly the posts are about the schools. I did find out about the Walmart. What other stores/ restaurants are in the town? Is there actually a town, or is it just all houses with some strip malls like one of the posters said. Our son works as a cashier at one of our local grocery stores and we need one pretty close to whatever house we buy as he doesn't have a car. Which brings up another question - does CARTA come up to Ooltewah?

[beachbyrd]

I really do not know much about Ooltewah. I have driven out there, but have not seen a town center. Does not mean there is none, I just have not been that way much. Here is the CARTA bus route page. Looks like the bus goes to E. Brainerd, but not Ooltewah.

Services - CARTA

Hope you find what you are looking for

[yankeegirl313]

Ooltewah is growing. I like the town myself. There doesn`t seem to be the crazy traffic like Cleveland has.

[kamoshika]

Though not familiar w/ Ooltewah, I did a Google search using the terms "grocery stores" and "Ooltewah, TN." The results show 3 main grocery stores in Ooltewah (2 Bi-Lo's and a Winn Dixie).

[Jon F Moss]

Originally Posted by kamoshika

Though not familiar w/ Ooltewah, I did a Google search using the terms "grocery stores" and "Ooltewah, TN." The results show 3 main grocery stores in Ooltewah (2 Bi-Lo's and a Winn Dixie).

and that's an old search result because there are no Winn-Dixie's around here. Didn't they all turn into Food Lions?

[Celsius]

Off of the Ooltewah exit is a new Walmart. There are two or three new hotels going in. A brand new Publix is currently under construction as well. Beyond that there is I believe a Ruby Tuesdays, some type of national BBQ chain, a Starbucks, among others planned for that exit as well.

Ooltewah is one of the fastest growing areas in Hamilton County because there is still some land there. My understanding even before the VW announcement, that there are 3000 homes planned or already in construction for that area. I know with housing the way it is, that's probably taken a hit, but with a 1$billion dollar VW plant coming in just one exit down the freeway, Ooltewah is going to be growing bigtime. I wish I owned some land there.

For people not too familiar with this area, East Brainerd is where the biggest concentration of retail is in the city and bumps up right next to Ooltewah which is to the north. East Brainerd's growth is spreading out and into the Ooltewah area. Ooltewah High School is overcrowded I think with over 2,000 students in a school not designed for that many. East Brainerd is finally getting a high school which should relieve some of the overcrowding.

Hope this helps.

[Jon F Moss]

getting to big for it's britches! Watch for delays as roads jam up with traffic and road expansion comes to late.

[ooltewahian]

Ooltewah is a great little town that has as of late began to grow at an incredible rate. There are two Bi-Lo's, a Wal-mart, Publix, and what used to be a Winn-Dixie in Ooltewah. The exit off of I-75 is being redone which is what is causing some of the temporary traffic problems that TriDad talked about. This will soon end when the construction is finished. Also, we are getting three new hotels, and several new restaurants. Ooltewah also boasts some of the lowest gas prices in the area. Lots of new homes are being build along Ooltewah-Georgetown road in the Northern part of Ooltewah which is a beautiful area with White Oak Mountain on one side, Lake Chickamauga not far to the other side, and beautiful farmland in between. Ooltewah is also a much more historic area than even some of its residents realize. Ooltewah was one of the three county seats of James County, TN when it was still in existance before it went bankrupt around the time of World War I. In my opinion it's really just a great place.

[dasmarian]

Farmland today, tract houses tomorrow. Allure: schools. Charm: none. Unless you find Wal-Mart and Publix charming. Next up: traffic.

[BlueCuzco]

As said it is growing very quickly, but there's not much to it right now besides the schools, grocery stores, strip malls, hotels, and restaurants. There's pretty much just one strip of road that all the development is on, much like any Interstate exit.

I find Collegedale much more to my taste. It's a prettier town in general, and there's a fantastic, long greenway from the second best playground in Chattanooga (Imagination Station) to Southern Adventist University. It doesn't have an Interstate exit all of it's own (maybe a good thing), but the dirve on Ooltewah-Ringgold road to East Brainerd is pretty nice.