Lee Erwin reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
Clarksville, Tenn. – If you talk about building it, they will come. And they did, with close to 215 people filling the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church on Main Street Thursday, April 9 for a public meeting about a civic square in downtown Clarksville.
The property being proposed for the civic square is the former Bank of America location across from the Church bordered by Main, Second, Legion and Third Streets. It was the first public meeting to learn more about the studies conducted for a civic square by the Nashville firm, Hodgson and Douglas.
Landscape architect Richie Jones with the firm laid out possible ideas that could take shape downtown with the project. Jones said his company has worked on a number of projects in Clarksville including the restoration of the Montgomery County Courthouse after the 1999 tornado.
Jones showed photos and designs of what other cities have done to improve their downtowns. Jones also talked about one-on-one meetings his company has held in Clarksville with different key stakeholders in the project including many city officials.
Major concerns from those interviewed were a lack of amenities downtown, including a grocery, pharmacy, not enough diverse retail restaurants and a lack of places to gather. Other problems mentioned were not enough options for living downtown and a lack of long term parking.
For downtown, Jones said they want a design that spurs economic development and growth. Embracing Austin Peay State University as a part of downtown, finding a new home for the Downtown Market, having the civic square act as an event and festival space and serving downtown retailers and restaurants were some of the projects goals.
Read original story and see civic square plans here:
After the presentation by Jones, audience members asked questions and of course cost was on the minds of some people. Jones said there were many factors involved with the cost of the project but he estimated anywhere from $3 to $6 or $7 million with a completion timeline of 12-18 months.
At the end of the presentation Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett shared his enthusiasm about the civic square saying it has been a little controversial but the great turnout at the meeting shows how the community feels about the project. “I think it’s just going to take all of us and that’s city, county, everybody coming together and I just say, let’s do it,” Durrett said.
Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan was unable to attend the meeting for the civic square because she had a previous engagement scheduled at a public meeting at the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce for the Northwest Corridor Transit Study. McMillan currently serves as President of the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee.