CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – For decades, riverfront development in Clarksville has been interrupted by a large sand pit and barge port, creating traffic problems and spilling sand over Riverside Drive. But a deal approved Wednesday morning will finally move that operation to a new out-of-the-way location.
The sand pit, owned by Pine Bluff Materials, sits on just under five acres between Riverside and the Cumberland, bounded to the north by the Boost Mobile store at Cumberland Drive and to the south by the Water Street Event Center. It’s a final holdover from the days when the riverfront was more industrial – over time, retail and recreation have taken over on all sides.
“The lot right now is impeding development of the riverfront, and if we can get the right kind of developments in there, I think that’s a catalyst that will help us develop our entire riverfront,” Clarksville-Montgomery County Industrial Development Board Chairman Don Jenkins told Clarksville Now.
“Chattanooga’s got a great riverfront – they developed their town around that, and this will be a new way to develop Clarksville, Tennessee, and make it more user-friendly and take advantage of an incredible natural, local resource, and that’s the key,” he said.
Finding a new sand pit spot
For the past year, IDB leaders Shea Hopkins and Josh Ward, along with Economic Development Council CEO Buck Dellinger, have been working to find a suitable new location for Pine Bluff Materials. They found one upstream: the Peay property just south of Liberty Park, Ward said at Wednesday morning’s IDB meeting.
The site, just south of Zinc Plant Road/the Cunningham Bridge, is 30 acres, and the price is $10,000 an acre, so the plan is for the IDB to buy the land for $300,000. The land will have to be rezoned from AG (agricultural) to M-1 (light industrial).
The Army Corps of Engineers says it will be a good barge port location, and Pine Bluff Materials likes the site as well.
The site will also be buffered from other developments. Currently, trucks going in and out of Pine Bluff are backing up morning traffic on Riverside, billowing dust and spilling sand across the road. “The buffering of this property really helps it get tucked away in a more appropriate setting,” Ward said.
New barge port for all
An additional benefit is the prospect of expanding the sand pit barge port to create a larger barge port that other industries can use. The Teeter family owns the adjacent land, and they are interested in selling for such an expansion, Dellinger said at the meeting.
Currently, both Hankook and LG Electronics need access to the Cumberland River. Hankook is using a barge port in Memphis and having parts trucked by interstate to Clarksville. LGE is using a barge port in Paducah and shipping to Clarksville by interstate and rail. Both have expressed interest in a local barge port.
“Anything that we can do to take traffic off of Interstate 24 will be positive,” Jenkins said. “It will be a much lower cost to our industries if we had our own serviceable barge port here.”
Also, Fort Campbell needs more barge access, so once the site is permitted, DoD might approve using it. State of Tennessee officials support the idea, so state money might be in play, Dellinger said. EDC staff members are also pursuing federal money for the project.
“The key thing is it will not only help us with existing industry, but it will help us attract future industry,” Jenkins said. “It’s a win-win all the way around. There’s no part of that that’s not perfect for Clarksville, Tennessee.”