CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council (EDC) took another step towards getting a convention center in Clarksville at their meeting on Thursday.
The board unanimously agreed to move forward with a market study that would indicate how big the facility would need to be before entering into an agreement with a developer.
The convention center will be in a planned 69-acre business park, called Site 27, just northeast of Tennova Healthcare in the Industrial Business Park.
While in the works for several years, the project has faced delays along the way, namely due to the COVID-19 pandemic reducing demand for convention centers. But with more developments and activities on the horizon, it would seem the project is starting to get off the ground.
“In the maturity of our business park, we’re at the point where we’re talking to developers to be the master developer for the entire property – all 69 areas. We’re also talking with a hotel convention center developer who will be part of that development,” said President and CEO of the EDC Buck Dellinger. “In the process of doing that, we need to sort of know from an outside source, what is the size of the convention center that we need to create?”
Dellinger explained that when the Industrial Development Board purchased the property with funding from the county, there was a factor indicating how big the facility would need to be.
“In the resolution, there was a requirement for a 40,000-square-foot convention center. We think that is close to the right answer, but when we talk to developers, we need to be able to justify what that number is,” he said. “Just like anybody that does an appraisal or does a market study for a pro forma, whomever, a bank, a finance institution (or) a developer, is going to have a study to support that investment.”
He went on to say the board would have to get approval from the county for any adjustment to that number, but that a market study would better prepare the EDC to enter into a master development agreement.
“A convention center space is expensive, probably $400 to $500 a square foot,” Dellinger said, noting the facilities are built to a higher standard. “A developer doesn’t want to build 10,000 extra (square) feet at $500 a square foot if they don’t have to.”
Members of the board indicated that the facility would be built so that it could be expanded at a later date, if needed.
EDC officials recently sought out proposals for a market study from several firms. On Thursday, the board agreed to move forward with selecting one of those firms with costs not to exceed $27,500.
In addition to the convention center, the business park site is expected to include up to two hotels, and up to 1 million square feet of office space to attract corporate entities looking for new headquarters, Dellinger previously told Clarksville Now. He said the new convention center will likely be geared to trade shows and other corporate entities, focusing on ballrooms and meeting spaces.