Clarksville, TN – The Clarksville City Council is considering an opportunity to purchase the site of Clarksville Speedway with funding already budgeted and on hand, and transform it into a vast Recreation Complex for north Clarksville.
The deal can further facilitate, at a cost savings to the City, the completion of Needmore Road widening work and improvements specified in the Mayor’s Transportation 2020+ master plan.
The City has been negotiating amicably and in good faith a potential deal with Speedway owner William Scogin that would give Clarksville 83 acres suitable for a Hazelwood Recreation Complex.
“We have been looking for a site in this area of the City for a transformative Recreation Complex, and the purchase of the Speedway property makes perfect sense,” said Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts.
“I am grateful to William Scogin for his patience while we put the deal together. As Victor Hugo said, ‘Stronger than an Army is an idea whose time has come.’
“The time has come to take the first step toward a World-Class Recreation Complex, while making infrastructure improvements for this fast-growing part of our City,” Mayor Pitts said.
The property at 1600 Needmore Road would address citizens’ requests for a Recreation Center in this area of the City – where there has historically been a void – and would include an Indoor Aquatic Center.
The City’s pool dome in New Providence was destroyed by a wind storm in Spring 2023. There is currently no public indoor pool facility in Clarksville.
Other amenities for Hazelwood Recreation Complex could include:
- Gym space
- Meeting and program rooms
- Fitness center
- Multi-use fields
- Accessible playgrounds
- Walking trail loop
- Alternate canoe access point
“The Clarksville Parks and Recreation team is excited about the future of this site as a Recreational Complex, and all of the programming we can provide for north Clarksville,” said Jennifer Letourneau, Director of Clarksville Parks & Recreation Department.
“We’ve been actively seeking a site for our citizens on this side of town, and 83 acres is more than we dreamed possible.
“Our citizens have told us that they want indoor aquatics and another Recreation Center to serve this area, and this gives us the opportunity to provide both, and much more,” Letourneau said.
Benefits of the deal
The current asking price for this property is $7 million. The appraised value is $3.66 million as currently zoned, which is AG Agricultural District.
In 2019, the City Council created a capital project for the purchase of land for a Regional Recreation Center, with north Clarksville’s need being principally addressed. That capital project is currently funded in the amount of $8.5 million.
The seller, Mr. Scogin, is only offering the property to the City of Clarksville at this time. The sale would be contingent on a two-year lease back to him for $1 a year to comply with the seller’s current contracts.
If sold to a private developer rather than the City, the Speedway property would most likely be rezoned to R4 Multi-Family Residential District, and C5 Highway and Arterial Commercial District, based on surrounding zoning.
The R4-zoned, 10-acre tract of land across Boy Scout Road from the Speedway sold for $1.45 million in February 2023, or approximately $140,503 per acre.
Along with the recreational component, there are benefits from this potential deal in the form of transportation improvements and related cost savings.
“This purchase gives us the opportunity to consolidate two capital projects, the Needmore Road widening and Hazelwood Recreation Complex,” said David Smith, Director of the Clarksville Street Department.
“The acquisition essentially shifts the property needed for the road widening away from the adjacent residences, eliminating the impact to those owners. Also, the purchase should provide enough land for us to maintain the existing traffic pattern while the roadway is developed in this stretch, minimizing lane closures and other interruptions,” he said.
Smith said the completed roadway will have five traffic lanes, a 10-foot multi-use path and a five-foot sidewalk on the opposite side of the roadway adjacent to this property.
The acquisition of right-of-way is expected to begin later this year, with construction starting about two years from now.
The Bottom Line of Two Options:
At stake, to summarize, is this:
The City can spend $3.94 million and widen Needmore Road along this stretch, but not purchase the Speedway property, or, spend $7 million including the Speedway purchase and widen the road, and also have an 83.4-acre Hazelwood Recreation Complex.
