Elected officials in Alcoa previewed the community’s future during a work session Friday, Aug. 2, as city staff presented an overview of capital projects coming to the area. The discussion ranged from the Springbrook Farm and Pellissippi Place developments to fire station improvements.
Springbrook Farm, Alcoa City Manager Bruce Applegate told city commissioners during the meeting, is booming. The basic outline of the development as set out in the initial master plan will remain mostly the same, but some adjustments may have to be made as time moves on, he said.
“We’re going to keep the integrity of the plans and we’re making sure we establish that downtown center,” he said. “That’s the most important thing that we’ll build out.”
A new, 42-inch sewer line along the proposed Mill Street project will open an entirely new section of the area up for development. Builders have done significant work on infrastructure in the area over the last two years, Applegate said, which is setting the stage for further expansion in what has been envisioned as Alcoa’s new city center.
The development in that area will bring new residential and mixed-use units to the city, expanding on the hundreds of residential units already in place. Vital Apartments on Centennial Park Boulevard has reached 70% capacity after welcoming its first residents last year, and more and more businesses are opening on the site of the former ALCOA plant every month. Applegate said he thought newcomer Kickback Jack’s would detract from neighboring Texas Roadhouse’s business, but he’s been pleasantly surprised to see both parking lots full at the same time.
Other newcomers have included sweet drink retailer Swig and banking solution UT Federal Credit Union . Further developments are slated to include The Chophouse, Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q and DosBros Fresh Mexican Grill.
At the anticipated Pellissippi Place development , Applegate said TDOT has approved right-of-way plans for the proposed multi-use project. Since that’s out of the way, he said the developer plans to move forward soon.
On the other end of town, city staff are watching developments on Topside Road. Applegate said the area has a “very, very strong lineup of commercial and retail” inbound.
“They’ve got some additional parcels that are not dedicated as of yet, but you will see the standard mix of restaurant, service and retail space out there along that corridor,” he told commissioners Friday.
Development along Topside, he said, is an opportunity for the city to capture some of the dollars that flow along that road. In response to questions from commissioners about additional traffic in the area, Applegate said road improvements deemed necessary by a traffic study would be the responsibility of developers.
Further improvements in store include a 3,500-square-foot addition to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center and repairs to faulty greenway bridges. Poor choice of lumber, Applegate said, led to water retention atop the bridges and caused boards to rot through, creating safety concerns.
Most Popular
Comments / 0