CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – While much of the discussion of the proposed apartment complex on Riverside Drive has centered on traffic worries and the need for additional housing, another set of concerns was raised this week: the need to revitalize Riverside Drive, coupled with the lack of grocery stores in the area.
The spark that ignited the discussion was the pending closure of Big Lots nationwide, including Clarksville’s location on Riverside almost immediately next door to the proposed 72-unit, 5-story apartment complex.
Josh Ward, vice president for the Industrial Development Board, said the IDB and the Economic Development Council have been actively working to recruit a new business to replace Big Lots in the Clarksville Square shopping center.
“I had a national grocer in the car with me,” Ward said at Wednesday’s IDB meeting. “I took him into the parking lot of Big Lots, and the sense that I got from him was, Where’s all the rooftops? Where’s all the development? It kind of was a desolate retail property.
“My big takeaway is we need to bring in other developments along Riverside to help our retail recruitment efforts,” Ward said. “We think this multifamily project will benefit the adjacent retail developments.”
Riverside Drive grocery desert
In the last few years, the EDC has been trying to address what’s called “grocery deserts” – areas that are underserved by grocery stores. In one such effort, the EDC established a requirement for developers of the Vulcan property to include a grocery store to serve the Red River neighborhoods.
But Riverside Drive has been more elusive, particularly after the closure of Save-A-Lot in June 2020, in the same shopping center as Big Lots.
“There’s 42,000 population in an eight-minute circle around Big Lots, and there’s no grocery for those 42,000 folks,” said EDC CEO Buck Dellinger. “It is the most difficult problem that we’ve got in the city and county for having a food desert, and it’s right on that intersection.”
Dellinger said the EDC understands the formula that the groceries use to determine when to open and when to leave, and a big part of that is population density. “It’s an indicator when people are leaving – that there’s better places.”
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When it comes to downtown dining, Ward said he has spoken with restaurant owners about what would help them thrive. “The No. 1 without question thing was, Y’all need to get more people living in downtown Clarksville. Because we need people eating here during lunch on the weekends.”
Revitalizing Riverside Drive
IDB members shared support for the apartment building and discussed how to advocate for it.
“This site is part of a larger area that has been studied since the ’70s,” said IDB member and architect Daniel Binkley. “The push to get Clarksville Marina and Liberty Park developed, that’s something the city invested $30 million in. Part of that was obviously to get people a good quality of life, but it was also to spark redevelopment in the downtown River District.”
Binkley said it would be short-sighted for the City Council to vote against it, letting a vocal minority stand in the way of something that will benefit the entire community.
IDB member and auto dealership owner Don Jenkins said it’s time to do something about Riverside Drive redevelopment.
“Our riverfront is very desolate looking, and that’s not what Clarksville is about. That doesn’t represent Clarksville properly, and this project right here would be a giant step in the right direction,” Jenkins said.
About the proposed rezoning
The proposed zone change from PB&J Properties is for around three acres at the northeast corner of Riverside Drive and Cumberland Drive, transitioning from R-1 family residential district to Planned Unit Development (PUD), making way for the 5-story apartment building. The building would be made up of 72 apartment units and 124 parking spaces. Out of those units, 32 are expected to be one-bedroom apartments while the other 40 would be two bedrooms.
Jeffery Tyndall, Clarksville-Montgomery County Regional Planning Director, told the council that the Planning Commission, as well as RPC staff, recommended approval. He said a traffic impact study found the driveway location and level of service would not adversely impact the Cumberland Drive and Edgehill Drive intersections, and the Street Department is planning improvements to Manning Heights and Cumberland Drive.
The proposed zone change will be revisited by the Clarksville City Council on Thursday, Feb. 27.
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