FMPC approves facelift for Station West
Station West shopping center, 11311 Station West Drive, is getting a facelift.
Farragut Municipal Planning Commission approved unanimously a site plan to partially redevelop the retail and office development located off North Campbell Station Road and across from Apple Cake Tea Room.
The property has two freestanding buildings, built in 1988, and houses Elliott Boots, Shoes and Sandals and other businesses.
Farragut Community Development director Mark Shipley said the building predates “virtually all of the existing town-related land use requirements and design standards.”
Station West owner David Fiser plans to tear down and replace the westernmost building, fronting North Campbell Station Road, with a 12,000-square-foot brick, stone and siding structure, which would meet town standards.
“Because of (the current structure) being a non-conforming building and site, they are actually going to the Board of Zoning Appeals (was Wednesday, April 25), for consideration of, essentially, perpetuation of a non-conforming site,” Shipley said. “They are obviously going to be making a non-conforming situation much more compliant.”
“(The redevelopment) will be good,” said Christopher Henderson of Elliott’s. “We will be in a new facility. It’s progress, and everything will work out real well.”
The new building would house a small restaurant with a drive-through on the east side of the building and two shops. “They are, at this time, keeping the building to the east and not affecting that portion of the parking lot,” Shipley said. “I believe, in the future, they will proceed with doing something with that.”
As shown on the plan, “Most of the islands in the parking lot will be new,” he said. “The building has been designed to meet architectural design standards. It meets the landscaping requirements between the buildings and parking lot. They’ve narrowed the access way off Station West Drive.”
“Currently, that’s probably about 50 feet wide, and they’ve tapered that down to 25 feet.”
The designers also are presenting a plan to BZA to address some of the sidewalks.
“Obviously, what they are improving is a vast improvement over what is there,” Shipley said.
FMPC also addressed drainage on the site.
“In absence of a drainage plan, I’m really struggling to understand how the water gets to the detention area at the Wild Wing Café or Staybridge, when both of those sites appear to be uphill from there,” Planning Commissioner Noah Myers said.
Civil engineer Annette Hummel of Site Inc. said there used to be a pond, where Campbell Lakes Drive currently is located.
However, when Cracker Barrel developed and Campbell Lakes Drive was built, she said, “It appeared the development to the north over-detained to compensate for them losing the detention pond.”
