Cookeville News

[jmtunafish]

While not development news in the traditional sense, there is some development news that has the potential to bring more businesses and industry to the Cookeville area.  The rural telephone cooperative that covers much of the Upper Cumberland region, Twin Lakes, has rolled out 10 gig internet service to all of its service area, and it's rolling out 10 gig internet to Cookeville which is not in its immediate service area.  My sister who lives in downtown Cookeville can now get 10 gig internet at her home (she's fine with just 1 gig).  How fast is 10 gig?  It's fast enough to stream 1,700 movies simultaneously.  10 gig is the fastest internet currently available worldwide, according to the article below.  Chattanooga charges $299/month for its very popular 10 gig service, Twin Lakes charges $249.  With Cookeville being home to the state's flagship tech university, area business and civic leaders are hoping this will help lure more high-tech industries and start-ups to town.  I know several tech-heavy businesses in town already use it like SAIC, ATC, the hospital, the university, and several medical offices.

https://www.ucbjournal.com/twin-lakes-debuts-10-gig-broadband/?fbclid=IwAR0xgS_VMs6y8rwopzY7p_3gmY4p2mOLMNlz7By_uqs6KfeTIAoNfy4SSzo

This recent article in the NY Times talks about why so many people are moving to the Cookeville area from out of state, many of whom work from home.  I'm sure having 10 gig internet available even out in the boonies is one reason people are lured to the area.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/12/business/economy/small-town-living-standard.html

Edited April 13, 2022 by jmtunafish

[jmtunafish]

Nashville's legendary Monell's is going to open a restaurant in downtown Cookeville.  Cookeville's iconic Bobby Q's closed a few weeks ago when its owner announced he was too old and sick to keep it going, and the city mourned.  Then this sign appeared on the front door this morning:

From what I've heard, it will have Monell's famous menu but with the addition of some of the favorite dishes from Bobby Q's.  Bobby Q's was once written up in Family Circle magazine for its "pool room slaw" and banana pudding, so hopefully those will be on the menu at this new Monell's.

In Cookeville development news, the new police HQ opened.  It's the first time the Cookeville PD has had its own home.  For the last 40 years they've been in the basement of the performing arts center.

 

Raising Cane's opened its first free-standing restaurant in Tennessee in Cookeville a couple of weeks ago.  People have gone berserk.  I haven't been yet because I keep waiting for the crowds to thin out.  Hasn't happened yet.  People are parking in the bank parking lot next door and in the vacant lot on the other side where Chuy's is supposed to go.

  

 

Now that the police HQ is finished, the city's next major project is an aquatics park.  The city council voted to include funds to get it kick started, and bids have already been advertised to start the preliminary work.  Here's the initial design they're going to work with:

 

 

The new Food City recently opened to great fanfare.  For Cookeville (and for Food City) it's pretty fancy:  Starbucks, brick oven pizzeria, fresh sushi, wood-fired bbq smoker, cafe with a fireplace.  Some of the outparcels have been spoken for:  Dunkin Donuts, Arby's, and Noire Nail Bar.  Other outparcels have been leased, but no official word yet on who leased them.  I've heard that Crumbl is one, but who knows.

 

That church across the street from Food City above has been bought by an outfit which has developed restaurants and small retail centers around the Southeast.  I've heard that they want to put in a Hwy 55 Burgers Shakes and Fries there, but I don't know what else.  The lot is big enough for several restaurants/businesses.

There are several construction projects on campus at Tennessee Tech.  Maybe someday I'll get around and take pictures.  Besides a new engineering building and new dorms, TTU is ripping up some of the roads through campus and replacing them with bricked pedestrian walkways.

[bnacincy]

Wow! Cookeville is booming! Far cry from when I was a student at TTU....

We've had Raising Canes up here in Cincy for awhile.....the chicken is awesome along with their sauce!

Hope the Monell's-BobbyQ's combo works out well. BobbyQ's just opened up when I was leaving Cookeville....yeah, OK, that was really back in the day!

[jmtunafish]

A decrepit old building downtown that had been neglected for years was finally razed and replaced with a handsome mixed-use building with some medical offices on the ground floor and apartments above.  I haven't seen any For Rent signs so I assume it means the building is fully leased.  The building isn't going to win any architectural awards, but it's a solid development that is helping downtown Cookeville be even more dynamic than most small towns around here.  It's located on Cedar Ave by the RR tracks and a walking/biking trail that connects downtown Cookeville to downtown Algood 4 miles away.

The old building that was torn down:

 

And the building that has replaced it:

 

In the very first Google Streetview picture there are some small outdoor storage buildings just beyond the antiques business.  The storage buildings have been demolished, and the city is making it into a small parking lot to replace the street parking which is being replaced with bike lanes.  This street is Cedar Ave which connects the university to the Westside area of downtown which has some of the city's excellent restaurants and breweries.

And speaking of downtown restaurants and breweries, just one block away from the above pictures is 1st Ave where a local chef and restaurateur, who already runs one of the region's nicest restaurants, is converting an old printing business into a pizzeria and wine bar which will also have Cookeville's first rooftop bar.  It's directly across the street from the city's first brewery, Red Silo Brewing Company, as well as a wonderful Indian restaurant.  Work has gotten started, and he hopes to have it open sometime this fall.  I sure wish the city would bury those confounded power lines and make this part of downtown more attractive and pedestrian friendly, which I'm sure they will as they have with most of the rest of downtown.

[tragenvol]

On 6/26/2022 at 6:04 PM, jmtunafish said:

 which will also have Cookeville's first rooftop bar. 

This will be the 2nd rooftop bar; Cookeville's first is at the new full-service Holiday Inn on S. Willow.

[jmtunafish]

The state legislature has just included over $100 million in TTU's budget for two large building programs:  another new engineering building, and a complete renovation of Johnson Hall (home of Tech's business school) which includes demolition of Foster Hall.  The new engineering building will be home to Tech's Advanced Construction and Manufacturing Engineering program which is currently scattered among three aging buildings:  Lewis Hall, Tech Foundry, and the East (football) Stadium. 

In the picture below which I snagged with permission from another poster at city-data, the building circled in red is the Ashraf Islam Engineering Building which is under construction.  In blue will the newest engineering building.  In yellow is Johnson Hall which will be gutted and rebuilt on the inside.  In light green are where the current Lewis Hall and Tech Foundry buildings stand, and in dark green is where Foster Hall currently stands.  Those three buildings will be razed to make more green space.  In purple is what will eventually become a pedestrian plaza once those parking lots are removed.  Already, Tech has closed part of that street (Peachtree Ave) and has started tearing up the asphalt to replace it with decorative bricks and landscaping. 

The white box is where a parking garage will eventually be built but which does not currently have a timeline.

https://www.tntech.edu/news/releases/22-23/tennessee-2022-2023-budget-provides-100-million-for-two-major-building-projects-on-campus.php

Edited July 22, 2022 by jmtunafish

[TNMichigander]

1 hour ago, jmtunafish said:

The state legislature has just included over $100 million in TTU's budget for two large building programs:  another new engineering building, and a complete renovation of Johnson Hall (home of Tech's business school) which includes demolition of Foster Hall.  The new engineering building will be home to Tech's Advanced Construction and Manufacturing Engineering program which is currently scattered among three aging buildings:  Lewis Hall, Tech Foundry, and the East (football) Stadium. 

In the picture below which I snagged with permission from another poster at city-data, the building circled in red is the Ashraf Islam Engineering Building which is under construction.  In blue will the newest engineering building.  In yellow is Johnson Hall which will be gutted and rebuilt on the inside.  In light green are where the current Lewis Hall and Tech Foundry buildings stand, and in dark green is where Foster Hall currently stands.  Those three buildings will be razed to make more green space.  In purple is what will eventually become a pedestrian plaza once those parking lots are removed.  Already, Tech has closed part of that street (Peachtree Ave) and has started tearing up the asphalt to replace it with decorative bricks and landscaping. 

The white box is where a parking garage will eventually be built but which does not currently have a timeline.

https://www.tntech.edu/news/releases/22-23/tennessee-2022-2023-budget-provides-100-million-for-two-major-building-projects-on-campus.php

Good news that Johnson Hall is being remodeled as it sincerely needs it. My biggest concern about all of these updates is that TTU continues to remove parking area without seemingly developing plans for how to address the worsening parking woes. I went to TTU from 2006-2010, and parking was awful then when they had much more availability. I can't imagine how bad it has gotten now.

[memphian]

Great to see Johnson Hall get an update. Even when I was there in the mid/late-90's it was close to busting at the seams.  Hopefully new space will help them add more programs. It kind of feels like TECH is finally thinking about growing up.

[tragenvol]

19 hours ago, TNMichigander said:

Good news that Johnson Hall is being remodeled as it sincerely needs it. My biggest concern about all of these updates is that TTU continues to remove parking area without seemingly developing plans for how to address the worsening parking woes. I went to TTU from 2006-2010, and parking was awful then when they had much more availability. I can't imagine how bad it has gotten now.

There are three parking garages included in the master plan...off the top of my head.  The first was slated to go to construction in FY23.....but something may have put that on hold.

[jmtunafish]

5 hours ago, tragenvol said:

There are three parking garages included in the master plan...off the top of my head.  The first was slated to go to construction in FY23.....but something may have put that on hold.

I heard or read somewhere that Tech's students have responded to surveys saying that they would rather see the university spend money on more green space and beautification efforts than parking garages, at least for now.  The university did open up a large new parking lot a few years ago on the western edge of campus behind Tech Village (the big purple lot in the picture below) which has free shuttle buses to the rest of campus, but it's rarely more than half full.  Tech students can also ride Cookeville's public bus system for free but I don't think many take advantage of it.

[bnacincy]

Cookeville has public transit? Wow!

[jmtunafish]

4 hours ago, bnacincy said:

Cookeville has public transit? Wow!

It's just three routes and 27 bus stops (if I counted correctly), and it doesn't run on Sundays.  It basically connects the university area to the hospital, downtown, various shopping centers, the homeless shelter, public housing projects, and some government offices that aren't located downtown such as the social security office and the VA clinic.  A 4th route is the Campus Shuttle which snakes through Tech with 7 stops on campus and operates just M-F during the school year.

Just this past week the city council voted to merge some city departments into one larger department, leaving room for a possible transportation department in the event that Cookeville is elevated to metropolitan status later this year or next which would free up more federal dollars for transportation projects.

I've found some city bus stops that made it to Google Streetview.

But most of the stops are just signs planted in grass or attached to existing posts.

Edited July 24, 2022 by jmtunafish

[PruneTracy]

Just FYI there are many municipal transit agencies in Tennessee (especially in East Tennessee). Cookeville is far from the smallest city with one. You can see the full list here:

https://www.tn.gov/tdot/multimodal-transportation-resources/office-of-public-transportation/public-transit-services1.html

[jmtunafish]

10 hours ago, PruneTracy said:

Just FYI there are many municipal transit agencies in Tennessee (especially in East Tennessee). Cookeville is far from the smallest city with one. You can see the full list here:

https://www.tn.gov/tdot/multimodal-transportation-resources/office-of-public-transportation/public-transit-services1.html

Correct.  However, the vast majority of those rural transportation systems are door-to-door and not fixed-route and require a reservation at least 24 hours in advance.  UCHRA started its fixed-route system in Cookeville and then expanded to include Crossville and McMinnville, both much smaller than Cookeville.  All of those state regional transportation agencies have door-to-door programs which I bet most people don't know exist.  It's available to everyone regardless of age or income.  In Putnam County it costs $1 each way "in zone" and $2.50 out of zone.  That service is free for "recovery" appointments (mental, medical treatments, even probation appointments).  That door-to-door program exists even in the big cities.  I wonder how many people in Nashville who stand for hours at bus stops know that they can get door-to-door service in Davidson County at $2 each way via MCHRA (with a reservation made 24 hours in advance, of course).

UCHRA has also partnered with Uber to offer on-demand rides via Uber but at discounted rates, and so far it's the only rural transportation agency in the state to do so.  Right now it's available only in Cookeville although I'm sure UCHRA would like to extend it to other areas when feasible.  While more expensive than the door-to-door service, the Uber service is on-demand, without the need to make a reservation 24 hours in advance.

[Douglas]

@jmtunafish So what have  you heard about the rumored redevelopment of the current Putnam County fairgrounds? I’ve heard rumors of Target. etc. - Thanks! 

[jmtunafish]

6 hours ago, Douglas said:

@jmtunafish So what have  you heard about the rumored redevelopment of the current Putnam County fairgrounds? I’ve heard rumors of Target. etc. - Thanks! 

The developer who was going to buy the fairgrounds has backed out.  It's the same developer who is building the shopping center on 10th Street anchored by a fancy Food City, and the city made the developer pay part of the cost of improving 10th Street as part of the agreement to rezone the property so the shopping center could be built.  I wonder if it's soured the developer on pursuing the fairgrounds which would require a bajillion times more road improvements.  Anyway, it's back on the market, but the county mayor said there are three other developers interested in buying it.  He's going to update the county commission tonight.  To be honest, I don't think the fairgrounds are a good place for a large shopping center mainly because the roads around it just aren't designed for that kind of increased traffic. 

As for Target, I haven't said anything on here because I don't want to jinx it.  But I do know that a Target real estate acquisition executive has moved to Cookeville (paid $1 million for a house), and the old Norwalk site has been rezoned to allow "regional commercial" development which means any retail over 120,000 square feet.  A friend of mine on the city council told me that Target has signed a letter of intent good for six months to build a store at that location, but it's all very hush hush.  It's the SE corner of I-40 & Willow Ave/Burgess Falls Rd.  In my opinion, this is a much better location for a regional shopping center, largely because the city wouldn't have to make many road improvements to accommodate it, certainly not like what would need to be done around the fairgrounds.

Edited July 25, 2022 by jmtunafish

[PruneTracy]

4 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

Correct.  However, the vast majority of those rural transportation systems are door-to-door and not fixed-route and require a reservation at least 24 hours in advance. 

Not trying to argue but I'm pretty sure all the ones listed under "Urbanized and Municipal Systems" except for CAC Transit in Knoxville have at least one fixed route. The rural systems (and a large chunk of the municipal systems' ridership) are paratransit though.

[jmtunafish]

2 hours ago, PruneTracy said:

Not trying to argue but I'm pretty sure all the ones listed under "Urbanized and Municipal Systems" except for CAC Transit in Knoxville have at least one fixed route. The rural systems (and a large chunk of the municipal systems' ridership) are paratransit though.

Yes.  As I said, the rural systems aren't fixed-route with very few exceptions such as Cookeville, Crossville, and McMinnville.  Sorry I wasn't very clear.  I know I can be a little wordy and not always make sense.  To me, rural means non-metropolitan.  I've looked at the other rural districts and can't find any fixed-route systems in any other non-metropolitan area in Tennessee other than the UCHRA systems in Cookeville, Crossville, and McMinnville.  There are fixed-route systems in Morristown and Oak Ridge, which are both smaller than Cookeville, but they're also part of metropolitan areas.  I don't know much about the other rural transportation districts in the state, but I am impressed with what UCHRA is doing.  I was particularly impressed when they unveiled their partnership with Uber in Cookeville.

EDIT:  I forgot that Sevier County is not part of the Knoxville metropolitan area anymore, so I guess the fixed-route systems there in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, by my definition, would be "rural" even though TDOT has them listed under the state's urbanized systems.

Edited July 25, 2022 by jmtunafish

[jmtunafish]

The mayor of Cookeville is in his last week as mayor, and in a radio interview he mentioned a "huge development" coming to the intersection of Willow Ave & I-40, and on his Facebook page he said, while discussing all the new retail and restaurants that have come to town during his eight years as mayor, "there is much more to come" and that the retail projects "will provide the most requested and much needed options to our community and the entire region."  And then he posted this (intentionally) vague image which looks a lot like the area at the SE corner of Willow Ave & I-40, with I-40 in the background and Willow Ave in the foreground.  Years ago there was a large Norwalk furniture factory here.  The "most requested" would be Target and Home Depot but I'm not sure what else.  I wouldn't be surprised if Kroger built a larger store here as Publix and, especially, the new Food City are a bajillion times nicer than the current Kroger.  And yeah I know, lots of surface parking, but at least Cookeville codes do require a certain number of trees per parking space.  No word yet on when all this will be made official.

[jmtunafish]

Some updates from Cookeville.

The new engineering building at Tennessee Tech is well under way.

 

There are several housing developments under way, but this one is the one I'm keeping my eye on because of its location.  When all is said and done, there will be 147 homes build on this hill behind the Honda dealership.  I'm eager to see how they fit and how much of the hill will be left.  It's a good time to be in the retaining wall business.

 

More housing is coming to downtown.  Some decrepit old duplexes are finally going to be torn down and replaced by ten luxury townhouses.  What's there now:

What's going to replace them (x2):

 

A building supply business that had been downtown for decades has moved outside of town, and the 2 or so acres that used to be its storage yard as well as a Mexican restaurant and market will become 60 apartments in 20 buildings.  The developer said they'll be all brick so as to blend in with the rest of downtown.  Those familiar with Cookeville will recognize Ralph's Donut Shop.  The Mexican restaurant and market have already moved to much larger facilities a couple of blocks west.

 

In other downtown news, the 4 acres immediately north of the above housing development--where the Wilson sporting goods factory used to be and where a Hilton hotel/conference center had been proposed prior to the pandemic--has been bought by HCA Health Services.  Does HCA own anything besides hospitals?  I can't imagine that they're interested in building a hospital in Cookeville, and 4 acres is way too small for one anyway.  Besides, I seriously doubt they would get the state's permission.  Does anyone in here happen to work for HCA?  This is prime land in downtown Cookeville so it seems kind of random that HCA would buy it.

 

Finally, the public housing authority is going to get started on Phase II of a large affordable housing development off of Buffalo Valley Road just west of town and adjacent to Cane Creek Park.  An existing public housing project in the middle of town has been sold to a developer who plans to renovate the existing houses and turn them into market-priced rentals.  Here's the plans for the development that will replace the existing public housing project, and then some:

Edited October 8, 2022 by jmtunafish

[jmtunafish]

I forgot about this one.  Tiny little Baxter (pop. 1,540) which is just a couple of miles west of Cookeville, could see as many as 600 new homes in a single development.  Baxter just annexed 60 acres to allow the development of a large, high density housing development just north of I-40.  The first 60 homes are already under construction on about 4 acres.  

https://newstalk941.com/baxter-approves-annexation-of-territory-by-dale-myers-lane/

[smeagolsfree]

Tiny little Baxter is about to double in size!

[jmtunafish]

Still waiting on official word of the stores coming to the shopping center that's planned for the SE corner of Willow Ave & I-40 (Exit 286).  From what I've heard, they were hoping to announce the tenants in October but at least one of them (Target) is still trying to tie up some loose ends.  Here's a drawing of what's planned but without any store names.  The only ones I've heard that are definitely coming are Target and Dick's Sporting Goods but I hope to hear more next week.  Supposedly, Home Depot has backed out (inexplicably) as has Costco (not surprising--Cookeville is way too small to support a Sam's Club and a Costco).

 

Lots of denser residential development is taking place in town.  In addition to the housing units coming downtown (discussed a few posts above) there are more that have just been announced.  I'm not including anything less than 10 units as those are harder to keep up with there are so many.  It's amazing how many of townhouses they can squeeze onto just a sliver of land.

13 homes on an .08-acre lot on Lone Oak Drive just off Willow and next another townhouse development that's wrapping up:

 

26 homes on 4.62 acres at the Hwy 111/I-40 onramp.

 

66 homes on 7 acres adjacent to Hwy 111:

 

60 homes on 6 acres on 10th Street.

 

Downtown, some storage units have been torn down to make way for a parking lot.  Normally, a new parking lot is not something to be celebrated, but in downtown Cookeville's case it is sorely needed.  The on-street parking along Cedar is going to be removed to make way for bike lanes.  So the city bought the adjacent storage units, tore them down and replaced them with a parking lot to make up for the lost on-street parking.  The before/after pics:

 

And around the corner an upscale pizzeria/wine bar/rooftop bar is going up where there used to be a printing business.  This part of downtown ("The WestSide") has become quite a hotspot for foodies with around 20 excellent restaurants and watering holes within easy walking distance of each other.

 

[rancenc]

Recent aerial view of Tennessee Tech University

 

[jmtunafish]

The city's zoning appeals board approved some minor variances to allow taller signs and adjustments to parking vs. landscaping for a large (for Cookeville) shopping center to be built at the SE corner of I-40 and Willow Ave/Burgess Falls Rd.  It's pretty much an open secret that the big anchor is Target.  At 150k square feet it will be a large Target (bigger than the ones in Mt Juliet, Murfreesboro, Franklin, and Hendersonville, for example, but smaller than the one in Spring Hill (formerly a SuperTarget).  The larger format Target includes lots of space for on-line order deliveries, EV parking, and larger and more comfortable space for Target employees.  The first of this type opened in Katy TX (Houston suburb) in November.  For those familiar with Cookeville, this is the site where there used to be a Norwalk furniture factory back in the day.

No word on what the other retailers are, but this developer (CHM) has developed shopping centers in Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga that include Target, Publix, Whole Foods, REI, and a smattering of restaurants such as Jason's Deli.  Since there's already a Publix on the other side of I-40 also developed by CHM, I'm sure another Publix is not in the works.

Edited February 10, 2023 by jmtunafish