CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Restoring Clarksville Initiative (RCI) has made progress in recent months, with four residential demolitions, adding to two earlier commercial demolitions.
RCI was created by Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, and is being led by Deanna McLaughlin, chairman and former Ward 2 City Councilman, according to press release from city spokesman Jimmy Settle.
City Building & Codes Director Justin Crosby said in the release that there have been multiple demolition projects undertaken since RCI’s inception, including these:
Residential demolitions:
- 630 Arms Drive
- 2323 Button Drive
- 216 Cave St.
- 307 Chapel St
Commercial demolitions:
- 1380 Fort Campbell Blvd. (formerly an abandoned car wash)
- 2133 Fort Campbell Blvd. (formerly a real estate office)
- 1955 Madison St. (formerly Carmike Theater)
- 301 Providence Blvd. (formerly a convenience store)
What is the Restoring Clarksville Initiative?
The RCI Task Force was created just over a year ago with a focus on creating proactive change, along with the beating heart of this effort being community driven, with a laser focus on restoring economic and aesthetic value to local Clarksville neighborhoods, the release said.
This task force is made up of:
- Austin Peay State University President’s Emerging Leaders Program
- City Building & Codes – Codes Enforcement
- City Building & Facilities Maintenance
- City Forester
- City Communications
- City Finance
- Grants Office
- Clarksville Fire Rescue
- Clarksville Mayor’s Youth Council
- City of Clarksville Neighborhood & Community Services
- Clarksville Police Department
- Clarksville-Montgomery County Regional Planning Commission
- Clarksville Street Department – GIS Division
- Tennessee Department of Transportation, Maintenance Division
Restoring Clarksville Initiative’s mission
The main mission of the RCI is to identify, prepare inventory, review, and help evaluate properties in the city that are in decline due to economic or owner neglect.
“The idea to create the Restoring Clarksville Initiative was inspired by former Councilman McLaughlin’s passion to protect our neighborhoods from blight and neglected properties,” Pitts said in the release.
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Properties that are abandoned, unkept, and deteriorating have a broader negative impression on surrounding neighborhoods and commercial areas of the City. For this reason, RCI efforts have been mainly focused on property demolitions and clean-up efforts.
“By cleaning up neglected properties, we’re making our city safer. Seeing this kind of progress is a massive win for our entire community,” McLaughlin said in the release.
RCI program takeaways
“The one, big take-away from all of the demolitions is knowing that redevelopment is key to molding the shape of our community. If we can take a property that has been neglected or forgotten about, and work with the community and the owner to find a way to rehabilitate or repurpose the property, we will draw new and better development to our neighborhoods,” Crosby said.
Overall, the RCI Task Force has made significant strides in achieving the following goals, for a better Clarksville. These goals include:
- Creating and implementing property improvement programs
- Working with property owners to bring properties into compliance with property maintenance codes
- Revisiting City Codes to determine where there might be updates needed
- Promoting City Codes compliance
- Providing support for property owners
- Seeking grants and redevelopment programs
- Performing other necessary tasks related to the RCI mission as they arise
For more, go to the Restoring Clarksville Initiative website.
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