‘Time is right’ for Town Center ‘to thrive’ in Farragut; ‘capable’ developers ready

Several years ago, I was contacted by (then) Mayor Ralph McGill to discuss his wishes to solicit a Town Center developer for a Farragut development. My experience working with Colonial Properties Trust to develop the Colonial Promenade and Colonial Pinnacle and my involvement in the development of Turkey Creek from 1995 until today was part of the reason for our initial discussions. Ralph and Marriane (McGill, his wife and former Farragut Alderman) and many others had long desired to obtain a Town Center for Farragut.

From that initial meeting, a joint effort to proactively recruit a Town Center developer for Farragut was started. The International Council of Shopping Centers annually holds a three-day convention in Las Vegas. Most developers of retail space in the U.S., along with retail real estate brokers, agents, tenants, builders and financiers of retail space are in attendance at this convention, usually numbering 30,000-plus attendees.

A Town of Farragut Task Force was organized to attend this convention with the emphasis on locating a Town Center developer for Farragut. Various Town officials, aldermen and myself attended this convention for many years, meeting with retail developers, brokers and directly with many tenant prospects. We generally promoted the Town of Farragut as a place for a profitable Town Center development.

Farragut now has located a proposed Mixed-Use Town Center developer who has acquired options on property that is presently within the Town Center zone. They are proposing a Mixed-Use Town Center development. I believe the time is right for such a development to thrive in Farragut.

CHM is the proposed master developer of the Town of Farragut Town Center development. I know Budd Cullom, Jim Harrison and Mike McGuffin who own and operate CHM. They are experienced, honest, capable people who are well-capitalized and will put an excellent development on the ground.

I know Neyland Associates run/owned by Joe Fileden and Joe Fielden Jr. They are premier developers of high-end apartments. These apartments will have many of the latest and most-requested apartment amenities.

I have heard concerns from Farragut citizens about possible school crowding, traffic or site issues. The apartment complex will have mostly professional tenants with minimum expected school-age children. The development has walking trials to two grocery stores, therefore cutting traffic volumes. The development will not have a direct entrance to Concord Road. The site issues will be addressed by engineering means.

Town of Farragut is the place and now is the time for everyone to support the new proposed Farragut Town Center.



Jim Nixon, Farragut