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Williams gives project, program ‘state of the Town’
Last year about this time, I was asked to review some of the positive changes that were happening in our Town. With 2020 under way, it’s time to give everyone an update on project completions, startups underway and programs in place.
Previously, I mentioned the former outlet mall building renovation, the Villages at Farragut (Phase 1), Autumn Care Assisted Living, West End Center renovation, Knox Valley Dental, Premier Eye Care complex, Starbucks complex, Dunkin’/Elliott’s Boots/AFC Urgent Care complex, Tire Discounters, the Founders Park stage, the Virtue Road roundabout, a second Snyder Road left turn lane, Peterson Road traffic calming, the Farragut Community Center/West Knox County Senior Center and redevelopment of the former Ingles shopping center as being under way.
Now that these projects are complete, the Ingles property is ready to lease to new small businesses and the community/senior center is expected to become the new activity hub for our Town.
Current projects include a new building at the Renaissance development, the plaza at the Campbell Station Inn, Overlook Apartments, renovations at Anchor Park, refacing of the wall on Campbell Station Road, Farragut Storage, Admirals Landing food and retail complex, a second building at Turkey Creek Commons and a Mixed-Use development at the former Sann farm, as well as a new road, Ivey Farms Road, from Kingston Pike to Union Road.
(The Union Road/Ivey Farms Road roundabout will be completed before any houses are built in Ivey Farms subdivision.) Improvement projects are also under way on both Concord and Virtue Roads
We have programs in place to ensure that vacated residential and commercial buildings are demolished and cleaned up. We still have a few to go, but plans are in place for each one. The Town has also cleaned up several overgrown properties and removed accumulated junk. Thank you for reporting such properties so they can be addressed.
Over the next several years, expect even more positive changes. The largest will be the new Outlet Drive Regional Entertainment and Employment zoning district. Top Golf will break ground in the spring with other businesses to follow.
The McFee Park expansion will begin with mass grading. The final phase of the Villages at Farragut, as well as the subdivisions we know as Park Place, Brass Lantern, Easton Park, Brookmere, Bridgemore, Ivey Farms and Grigsby Park will be completed. Our stormwater system will be mapped and prioritized for future maintenance. There are a few large, privately-owned tracts of land that have not been developed, and we hope one of these will become a future Town Center.
Union Road, Virtue Road, Evans Road, Boring Road and Boyd Station will be brought up to current design standards. The Kingston Pike/Watt Road intersection is scheduled to be reconstructed by TDOT.
Design plans are in place to make major changes to the I-40/Campbell Station Road interchange that will help with rush hour traffic. Our traffic signals will be replaced with signals that can be monitored to reduce traffic back-ups.
We have new or revised ADA-compliant crosswalks planned for key areas to improve pedestrian safety, and the Town has budgeted for more sidewalks/walking trails to improve pedestrian connectivity, as we do each year.
It’s hard to keep up with current and future improvements on a daily basis, but we have a dedicated staff and a great group of Board/Committee volunteers who work as a team to do what’s best for Farragut.
You can help by shopping in Farragut, which generates sales tax revenue to pay for municipal projects. When we all work together, there’s no limit to the good things that can happen in Farragut.
