Nicole June Reporting
njune@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – January 22 marks the 15th anniversary of the 1999 tornado in Clarksville, which ravaged the downtown area, causing millions of dollars in damages and changing the face of the city forever.
Since that time, businesses in the area have come and gone, and many changes have been made. However, officials believe there is still room for significant improvement, which can hopefully be accomplished in the coming years.
Brenda Kelley has been hired by the city of Clarksville as Executive Director of the Two Rivers Company (TRC), an organization that works to improve the central business district, to do just that. 
“That organization has a great mission, but I think it had been struggling because they didn’t have someone who was dedicated on a full-time basis to looking at leveraging things downtown, recruiting new business entities, securing grants, and other types of funding to bring new things into downtown,” Mayor Kim McMillan said. She hopes Kelley’s appointment will create a symbiotic relationship between TRC and the city in order to change the landscape of downtown. “I think that’s the biggest plan that we can have and the biggest thing we could move toward in making significant changes.”
Kelley comes to Clarksville after working for many years in various cities in Florida, where she has cleaned up blighted areas, planned residential and economic developments, and secured funding for waterfront projects.
She chose to take the job in Clarksville because she saw an open canvas in need of some work. “I wanted to get into work that I thought was important for people who would appreciate improving neighborhoods and making places look better, feel better, and live better,” she said.
Kelley believes residential development, business recruitment, sidewalks, and developing vacant buildings and lots will lead to the revitalization of downtown. She said major residential developments such as condominiums, apartments, and lofts will attract a variety of people to the area, who will then need the resources to ‘live, work, and play’ downtown. These needs will in turn be met by businesses that move to the area.
This development will not require extra land, but rather a more appropriate division of the space available. “It makes for a more functional, walkable downtown when you plan smarter, instead of just growing out,” Kelley said.
The downtown area includes Riverside Dr., which cannot undergo a facelift without the stabilization of the riverbank. “The problem with Riverside Dr. is the bank is falling in,” Mayor McMillan said. “It’s very hard to redevelop areas when you don’t have a stable base in place to put things. Right after I became mayor I thought the first thing we had to do was explore the opportunity to figure out how to get the bank stabilized.”
She has since submitted an extensive feasibility study of the bank, and recently found out the proposal was accepted as the number one project to be funded for Section 18 grants. “Once that’s done, then we’ll have the ability to come in there and work hard to redevelop the Riverside Dr. area and connect it to the downtown. You can’t put the cart before the horse,” she said.
One project of particular interest to the Mayor is the possible construction of a multi-purpose Performing Arts Center downtown, which would house theater groups, meeting space, and much more. Mayor McMillan has hired a consultant to conduct a study for the project. “Having a project like that I think can serve as an anchor and catalyst to continue to further downtown development and additional stores. I am so excited about it,” she said.
None of this development is possible without proper funding, and Kelley plans to research the availability of grant money, as well as appeal to the city to kick start planning and projects. “The city has been very generous,” she said. “The Mayor is very concerned about what the downtown looks like.”
Kelley will work closely with the Mayor’s office, other city departments, and TRC to make these improvements a reality. She believes the private and public sectors within the city must work together as well to effectively develop the space.
Downtown Clarksville will not change overnight, but the city is beginning a new chapter of transition and growth which will propel Clarksville and its residents into the future.