CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Mayor Joe Pitts promised some key improvements to public spaces during the 2022 Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce Mayors’ Power Breakfast on Tuesday.

“Much like we did with our Transportation Plan, we want to undertake a focused effort on expanding new parks, greenways and green spaces throughout our city,” Pitts said. “The pandemic taught us that people depend on outdoor spaces in which to get out and have an improved quality of life.”

The city will ask for public input on the vision for these projects.

He also announced some coming improvements to park spaces, including expanding Dixon Park and renovating the L&N Train Depot, Fort Defiance and the Smith-Trahern Mansion.

Pitts’ delivered his speech this year over a live Zoom call from his home, as he has been ill recently and wasn’t able to attend.

He also gave updates on some key ongoing projects:

Performing Arts Center: In 2021, the city purchased the Roxy Regional Theatre to construct a new performing arts center. The city is now conducting economic and architectural studies “in order to get it just right,” Pitts said. He also said in prepared comments that a theater team is coming from New York to assist with the studies and to help the city develop a “precise picture” of the project.

Frosty Morn: The city is still considering which way to go in turning the abandoned factory into a property that serves the community. Some proposed uses include a local farmer’s market and a community dining space for food trucks or start-up restaurants.

While the vision is for something that the entire city can enjoy, Pitts said, the plan is to ensure it will benefit the adjacent Red River community.

“We are strictly focused on helping those neighborhoods, (to provide) places for youth to work, places for food and crafts to be sold, public spaces, event spaces, restaurants and places where businesses can be launched,” he said.

Clarksville has won a spot in the Mayor’s Innovation Design Cohort, which will help the city develop Frosty Morn as an equitable and inclusive public space. The next step is to conduct a market study, estimate structural engineering, and do a budget amendment, Pitts said.

Parking: A parking Town Hall Meeting will take place on Feb. 2 at the Roxy, where Michael Palmore, the parking manager, will discuss upcoming changes and ideas for parking downtown. A long-discussed project to build a new parking garage downtown is still in the works between the city and county.

“At the moment, we’re still gathering proposals,” Pitts said in prepared comments.

Pitts also discussed the city’s accomplishments during 2021, touching on the Transportation 20220+ Plan; the opening of the North Clarksville Services Center; approval of the North Clarksville Water Treatment Plant, which Pitts called “the single most significant public works project in the history of the City of Clarksville;” and the partnership with Silicon Ranch to build a solar farm at the coming Athletic Complex.

On the Athletic Complex, work on the road to the park should begin soon, Pitts said, and then crews will get started on the fields.

For more, see the city’s 2021 Annual Report at the City of Clarksville website.