Preliminary discussions underway about converting the McMinnville Roses at the Three Star Mall into an Agriculture Expo Center once the store’s lease ends.
Warren County Executive Terry Bell said the county would need to renovate the 55,000 square foot building. Bell said the talks are just a discussion for now, but he wanted to hear the public’s thoughts before making any concrete decisions on the project.
“Everybody I’ve talked to is really excited about it,” Bell said. “If we can, we’ll have to have some state funding, will be the problem. It’s going to be a really expensive venture and I don’t think the county could afford it without some help from the state.”
Bell said he has met with Governor Bill Lee about obtaining state funding. Bell said the project could cost some $15 million, but he is unsure of exact numbers at this time.
In addition to renovating the building, Bell said the county would explore buying the land behind it to make into a campground. Bell said the campground would include between 50 and 100 campsites, as well as an amphitheater. Bell said a boat ramp for kayakers and a boat ramp could also be built at the campground.
Bell said the county owns the building, but Rose’s is in a three year lease. He said that there could be a way around this if the county is able to fund the building.
“We will probably try to present this to the Governor and see if we can get in his budget next year to get us some funds to proceed on with this,” Bell said. “And if we can do that, we can talk to Roses. Maybe we can find them another place or something. That’s always a possibility.”
Despite Warren County being known for agriculture, Bell said there are not many venues to showcase it. Bell said two nursery associations are in McMinnville, and he hopes they will get office space in the new facility.
Bell said the expo center could bring in events like nursery trade shows and equipment shows. In addition, Bell said these kind of events can help boost tourism.
“I know pickleball has become a big thing, and we could actually have some pickleball tournaments,” Bell said. “And people could come in, put their campers down there and stay, and it would be a big boost for our economy. All of our restaurants and hotels in our county.”
