From the Home Front: Suddenly, a lot to take in when walking downtown Clarksville

It used to be that downtown Clarksville was little more than a land of lawyers and government agency acronyms.

And to some extent, that's still a big part of what it is.

It's a good thing for historic downtown to be a center of that which regulates us as a community.

But we also need it to be a focal point for living, working and playing, to ensure its long-term survival.

"Revitalization" is a term for downtown that has come in fits and starts through the years, interrupted by natural disasters — literally, tornado, fire and flood — and some unfortunate individual stories of business struggles.

But now, something big, and different, is catching on. 

In our walk around the city's core, you have to start with F&M Bank Arena.

At 250,000 square feet and with 6,000 seats planned for hosting a variety of shows and sporting events, construction on this thing isn't yet completed — it opens sometime next year — and it's already changing the look and feel of downtown, by symbolizing a high-water mark in Clarksville growth and change. 

Like nothing else before, the arena is going to tie downtown to the Austin Peay State University campus, creating one seamless, walkable neighborhood.

But even before the arena construction began in a rare celebratory moment at the height of COVID-19, led by the Nashville Predators and Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, there was another focal point already bringing folks downtown: an outdoor civic square called, "Downtown Commons."

Modeled in many respects after places like Knoxville's Market Square, among others, the Commons is now doing what it set out to do. It's a place where Clarksville-area residents come together to enjoy entertainment events, or, just entertain themselves.

Among Clarksville residents who wasted no time jumping into the downtown movement with their own private funds, there were Joe and Cathi Maynard, who are in the latter stages of construction on their 18,700-square foot Shelby's Trio, situated next-door to the arena atop the hill at Second and College streets.

Three floors of the Trio will include everything from an American-themed eatery with mostly 1970s muscle cars at the base, to fine Italian cuisine on the second floor and an indoor-outdoor upscale rooftop bar.

Across the way, downtown already has the popular Strawberry Alley Ale Works as an anchor in the vicinity of Legion Street and the Alley, but its owners, the Cunningham family, are taking their investment in downtown a step further with a major makeover of the old Federal Building on North Second Street.

They are calling their remodel, "The Mailroom," promising a restaurant and outdoor patio that will feature made-from-scratch dishes and draft cocktails.

Then, there's the iconic restaurant on Franklin Street that started the entire modern-era downtown revitalization movement, Jeff Robinson's Blackhorse Pub & Brewery, which is back after a March 2021 fire forced a major overhaul of the place.

The Blackhorse has remained ambitious and is still standing even while many other ventures simply couldn't.

There's the ever-popular Edward's Steakhouse, also on Franklin, in a relaxed atmosphere that has been built on live piano music. It is a special brand of unique for Clarksville, from the menu to the style of service it provides.

There are offices — Millan Enterprises has transformed places like 25 Jefferson Street, the former Regions Bank building, and our own Leaf-Chronicle building now known as "The Press," — and there is much more to come from Leo Millan, rest assured.

We've even tied nature and parks into downtown with links to the McGregor Park Riverwalk and the Upland Trail. Green spaces give all of this development balance, throughout the calendar year.

And not to be outdone, there is a whole host of residential development happening downtown.

Single-family and revamps of older homes, apartments and townhomes extending from The Second Street Lofts and Highpointe Row to Dog Hill, including some of the newer units going up around University Avenue and Madison Street led by Jennifer Willoughby.

To support all of this additional traffic, we're now foreseeing the strong possibility of having two big, new parking garages.

Which brings us to the next stop ... that 4 acres between the arena and the Riverview Inn hotel.

At an investment of $50 million, with the Charles Hand family leading the way, "Riverview Square" is coming, with its revamped hotel under the Hilton brand, nationally-known shops and restaurants to be announced, and a private parking garage.

This garage is hoped to work in tandem with the city of Clarksville's planned public parking garage on the other end of First Street, at Commerce Street, which is expected to be of comparable size and scope.

The city is essentially expecting to repair and dramatically expand its Cumberland Plaza Parking Garage.

And with that parking structure in place, it will be conveniently stationed near the Roxy Regional Theatre as it morphs into what is expected to be a full-fledged major performing arts center.

That concludes our downtown walking tour for the moment.

There is certainly much more to discuss, including the continuation of artists and downtown events; individual, and unique stores and boutiques that downtown already has; landmark churches that have survived, and again, thrive; the craft brewery movement that has expanded to all corners of the downtown area ... we could go on and on.

But the historic core has just begun to scratch the surface of what it is about to become — ready or not.

Reach Jimmy Settle at jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0247. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to TheLeafChronicle.com.