A new site for the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute within Chattanooga was purchased by the state for $2,450,000.

The deed transfer for the 49-acre wooded site at 1001 Birmingham Highway in Lookout Valley was signed early this month.

Officials said the property was not for sale, but Koch eventually agreed to sell the tract that is next to a feed mill it has at that location.

State officials said they are confident that the entire project can be completed within the $260 million that was allotted in 2022.

The transaction was announced at a press conference at the current location at the tip of Moccasin Bend across the Tennesee River from Lookout Mountain. That site was built in 1961.