Council seeks land for 3 parks, including Veterans Parkway: 'It’s just a better location'
Scott Broden- Former factor property was part of Civil War battle
- City is obtaining seven parcels and part of an eighth parcel for downtown waterfront park
- Waterfront park involves daylighting the buried Town Creek in pipes when state built Broad Street
- Land swap involves property for park and headquarters
The Murfreesboro City Council agreed to acquire three properties Thursday for future parks and a potential school.
The five present council members approved the land plans. Councilmen Bill Shacklett and Kirt Wade were absent. The properties include the following:
- 42 acres that previously served as a General Electric factory at 2150 N.W. Broad St., northwest of Thompson Lane;
- 149 acres on Veterans Parkway in the Blackman community that Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) is trading to the city;
- and seven parcels and part of an eighth along the southwest side of Northwest Broad Street between Church and Front streets by the downtown area.
The council authorized spending nearly $5.2 million from American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) proceeds to acquire the parcels by the downtown area to allow the city to pursue the daylighting of the underground Town Creek and related improvements.
The total price for property acquisition for the Town Creek project includes $168,689 for relocation bids for the property sellers or tenants, and that combines with a total of nearly $5 million for appraisal values.
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The Town Creek project will include walking trails by the water. The creek used to run through part of the city's Historic Bottoms community before the state in the 1950s built Broad Street as part of U.S. Highway 41. The road work buried the creek in a pipe in an area between Hickerson and Northwest Broad Street as part of the urban renewal project, according to an agenda report by the city administration.
City officials expect the Town Creek project to attract economic redevelopment in part of downtown and the Historic Bottoms community. The project also includes city land that will be set aside as green space at the southeast corner of Church and Broad.
The proposed park and walking trail connecting Murfree Spring to Cannonsburgh Village will establish a district to the entrance of downtown Murfreesboro, the administration report said.
Land swap involves property for park and headquarters
The property deal with MTE involves swapping land to allow the city to obtain property for a future park in the Blackman community and "possible educational facilities," according to an agenda report by City Manager Craig Tindall.
The city will give MTE about 116 acres for what was once planned to be "Blackman Park" off Interstate 840 and Veterans Parkway. The utility will trade around 149 acres to the city. The MTE land previously had been planned as a future headquarters for the utility. The MTE land is about a mile south of I-804 on the east side of Veterans Parkway.
Each property is valued at nearly $4.5 million, according to the city manager's report.
The city originally paid $4.9 million in 2016 to buy what was initially 123 acres off Interstate 840 for west-side park land.
The elected officials also spent about $1 million on designs for Blackman Park and held community meetings for land that was also bounded by Blackman, Burnt Knob and Vaughn roads.
City leaders, however, delayed construction because project costs increased from about $27 million to more than $40 million. The plans had called for eight baseball/softball fields, batting cages, a playground, splash pad, picnic pavilions, a multipurpose sports field, multipurpose courts for tennis, basketball and other sports, an outdoor amphitheater and a 1.5-mile walking trail.
The council has allocated $8 million so far toward the park on the MTE land that's closer to city neighborhoods, Mayor Shane McFarland said.
"It’s just a better location," McFarland said.
Yet pursued design plans will include walking trails and pavilions, but there are no current plans for ballfields, said Nate Williams, the city's parks and recreation director.
City officials expect ballfields to be available to the public through the future $350 million Legacy Sports development off I-840 and Northwest Broad Street, Williams said.
The city also owns 154 acres on Franklin Road about a mile west of Veterans Parkway for a potential park with ballfields.
Although they gave up on previous Blackman Park plans, city officials now say the land off I-840 is better suited for economic development, such as a headquarters.
A city consultant in 2020 ranked the property off Interstate 840 and Veterans Parkway as Murfreesboro's top economic development location.
Former factor property was part of Civil War battle
The city council agreed to pay up to $125,000 for the 42 acres of the former General Electric factory property from American Battlefield Trust.
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American Battlefield Trust paid $4 million to buy the 42 acres in 2020 from O'Reilly Auto Parts. The land had been part of where the Stones River Battle was fought during the Civil War. The property is a short drive from the Stones River National Battlefield on Old Nashville Highway.
The price arrangement with the city is to help the trust pay $100,000 in property taxes to Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, according to a report to the council from Deputy City Attorney David Ives.
The former factory land is restricted by Tennessee Hazardous Waste Management Act requirements under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and by a Deed of Conservation Easement granted to TDEC. The restrictions limit the property to passive recreational use, pedestrian traffic and agricultural/horticultural use.
"These restrictions will not adversely affect the intended use of the property as park space," Ives said in his report.
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden.
Appraisal values for acquired property
The following shows property the city is pursuing for a park with waterfront walking trails, and the project includes daylighting of the underground Town Creek:
- Tract 1 at 315 Hickerson: $815,000
- Tract 2 at 111 N.W. Broad St.: $550,000
- Tract 3 at 117 N.W. Broad St.: $250,000
- Tract 4 at 121 N.W. Broad St.: $505,000
- Tract 5 at 205 N.W. Broad St.: $425,000
- Tract 6 at 215 N.W. Broad St.: $550,000
- Tract 7 at 219 N.W. Broad St.: $1,850,000
- Tract 8, a partial take, at 223 N.W. Broad St.: $38,080
- Total property appraisals: $4,983,080
- Total relocation bids to help sellers or tenants move: $168,689
- Total of appraisals and relocation bids: $5,151,769
Source: Murfreesboro city government staff