Cookeville officials meeting with potential design firms about not just the old Wilson Property but about infrastructure possibilities in the Depot Area
Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton said the city has met with local and international design firms about the best use for the newly acquired property. Wheaton said discussions centered on parking and green space as well as retail and hotels.
“We’re also talking about changing up the traffic flow and making that work better with the you know, malfunction junction right there,” Wheaton said. “So it is a huge undertaking right there, and we actually had some really good firms come in and present a lot of ideas to us.”
Wheaton said the city is full speed ahead on the project, and wants to select a firm soon to get moving on the project. Wheaton said this is a longer term project than just a parking lot and green space, although those are the first two priorities.
“That is something we can go ahead and kind of get the foundation for because that is such a need down there,” Wheaton said. “So we’re going to go ahead and get that done. That’s our main focus right now.”
Wheaton said the city still has to plan for expanding the rest of the area. Part of that may involve adjustments to traffic patterns, especially at the intersection of Broad Street and Depot Street
Wheaton said the city will have to look and see if there is a way to rework that intersection to better suit the project while making traffic flow seamless. Wheaton said she thinks lots of people see that area as a traffic headache.
“There might be some more road closures,” Wheaton said. “I apologize, but we’re doing it with the foresight that this will be really great improvements for the City of Cookeville.”
The City of Cookeville purchased the old Wilson Plant from HCA Health Services for some $3.2 million in May.
