Mayor shares Town goals for 2025
Many restaurants on Williams’ wish list; priorities told
With the coming of a new year, Farragut Mayor Ron Williams reflected on the Town, what had transpired and what could be in store for 2025.
“Over the next several months we will be planning and preparing our budgets for (Fiscal Year 2025) and beyond,” he said. “It is important that we continue with the progress that we have made on enhancing our infrastructure by investing in projects that move our traffic more efficiently and safely through town and plan for future growth.
Concerning Town Center, Williams said he would like to see 100 percent filled in retail and apartments before the end of 2025.
Regarding the Publix on the west end of Town near Dixie Lee Junction along Kingston Pike, the mayor said, “Grocery stores typically go up quick.
“We hope they are close to opening by the end of the year, as the base property is ready to get started on now,” he added. “Once it is under roof, the interior build-out can be under way while the outside is being finished.”
About other commercial prospects, Williams said, “The Town of Farragut relies heavily on sales tax revenues to fund our operations and capital projects.
“It is important that we follow the vision in our Land Use Plan for the few remaining parcels of land remaining that can potentially be built on so that Farragut will have the greatest opportunity of continued success for many years to come,” he said.
For example, the Town’s Farragut Municipal Planning Commission and Board of Mayor and Aldermen soon will be reviewing plans for the commercial segment of the Kingston Pike Village development adjacent to Little Joe’s Pizza near near Dixie Lee Junction at South Watt Road. The Mayor expects decisions to be tough on this development.
“(The owner) seems to be trying to put commercial tenants in place during 2025,” Williams said. “Based on what is on the FMPC agenda, he has one restaurant or (other business) wanting a drive-thru now.”
Throughout the Town, the mayor said he would like to attract businesses, such as IN-N-OUT Burger, Captains Galley, another Chick-fil-A, Aubrey’s, Culvers and Trader Joes.
On another matter, the Board will be considering the type of park it will have on the roughly 70 acres it purchased last year along McFee Road.
“My vision would be to start at the existing McFee Park walking trail, down the east side of the ravine, down through the woods to the underpass and then turn and go down the west side of the ravine, back through the woods and loop back into the trail at McFee Park,” Williams said. “The $2.75 million (federal grant money the Town recently received from Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation) cuts the land cost in half.”
To accommodate its growing traffic, the Town has been in the process of installing an Advanced Traffic Light System to control the traffic lights in relation to heaviest congestion.
While the completion is running late, Williams said once completed, “The new traffic management system is designed to manage flow with programable signal timing from a connected single source location,” especially valuable “at key times of the day.”
Farragut “is a wonderful Town and one I have been proud to call home for 30-plus years,” the mayor said. “Our quality of life is what is driving people across the country to move to our area to call home.
“We are rated in the top three of all suburbs in Tennessee to move to for this reason,” he added. “My plans are to continue to work to ensure that we maintain our high standards.
“The Founders of our Town had a tremendous vision for what we could become someday. I want us to continue with that vision of setting the standard for quality of life with a beautiful, close knit, connected, engaged community where individuals, families and business can thrive together.”
