Architectural drawings of the proposed Target. Submitted.
A Target store may be opening in Gallatin soon.
City Planner Brian Rose presented a Preliminary Master Development Plan (PMDP) to a City Council committee last week in connection with an ordinance to change 47.51 acres from a Specific Planned District (SP) to a Mixed Residential and Office (MRO) Planned Unit Development (PUD). The zoning change will bring the 47.5 acres in the parcel into line with the adjacent 9 acres already designated as an MRO, creating uniform zoning for the development.
The shopping center is adjacent to the southwest corner of Volunteer State Community College and is located east of Greenlee Boulevard and stretches north of Nashville Pike. It fronts Nashville Pike.
The rezoning request was issued by the landowners, Greene & Little, and Development Management Group, LLC (DMG), acting on behalf of Greene & Little.
The property sits on the site of the former Greenfield Station, which has a long approval history dating back to the 1980s. The current zoning ordinance was approved in July 1998. Over the years, the PUD has been expanded and amended several times, but has always maintained a mixed commercial and residential use as originally planned.
“The property is part of the Greensboro North Transit Ready Development (TRD),” Rose said, “which is a development proposing a mix of commercial office and high density residential. By rezoning to MRO, we are giving up rights to a significant amount of residential housing, as this shopping center, by definition, will not build residential housing on that lot.”
Rose explained that the development is in two phases, with Phase 1 having two parcels. Parcel 1 of Phase 1 will include the Target and its parking lot, while Parcel 2 will include other retail and a storm water area.
Rose said additional access roads are planned and shown on the developer’s maps.
“A 10-foot-wide greenway will also be installed, wrapping around three sides and connecting with the existing greenway on the west side,” he said.
DMG Vice President and Principal Ken Nuckles was present at the council meeting to explain the details of the plan.
“We own 56.5 acres of land and we’re dividing it into three parcels and three out parcels,” he said. “Plot one and parcel two are included in the first phase of construction and the out parcels are also part of the first phase. The second phase will also be a retail development, but that’s still a ways away.”
Mr Knuckles told the council the amount of brick in the development is at least 70 per cent, with the remainder made up of cement panels.
“Our design is a new prototype for Target,” he added. “They submitted a copy of the design they wanted and we made modifications to separate the vertical and horizontal lines. The Planning Commission thought the design was fine, but they required us to install cross walkways along Greenlee — additional driveways. We will install three of those, which are shown in the site plan drawings that we submitted today.”
The Gallatin Planning Commission’s recommendation came with 19 conditions.
“We don’t dispute any of these and we’ve addressed them all in the amended plan we filed today,” Nuckles said.
City Councillor Pascal Jouvance said he would like to see the shopping centre built away from the road.
“I think that would make it more appealing,” he said.
Knuckles agreed, but explained that the property came with a surprising number of encumbrances.
“We have the Ruskin Branch, which runs north-south along Greenlee and then comes back up behind the Target building,” he said, “plus flood zones and wetlands and a huge TVA easement. You’d think you could build anywhere on a parcel of land this size, but you can’t. We had to plan around existing burdens.”
As he showed the council older maps, Rose noted how the design has evolved significantly since then: “There will also be green space on the two outer parcels, which will help hide the parking lot from Nashville Pike,” Rose said, “and the Target parking lot will be on the inside, away from the road, which will look nicer.”
The city council voted unanimously to move the ordinance forward for first reading at the Aug. 20 City Council meeting.