South Hartmann Drive economic development corridor planning

---

The city of Lebanon has made a large investment into the South Hartmann Drive corridor with the construction of a major arterial roadway that connects to Interstate 40 from West Main Street (SR 70) on the north side and Murfreesboro Road (SR 231) on the southeast side.

The corridor has not developed as quickly as the city envisioned when the arterial road was built due in part to an economic downturn that hit the region starting in 2008 and 2009. In the last several years, new development has significantly picked up in the region and has started to spur new investment into the corridor. The city of Lebanon recognizes the importance of the South Hartmann corridor in shaping its future and determined the time was right to consider how to best promote economic opportunities along the corridor while considering the need to preserve and enhance the quality of life of its residents and create a positive “sense of place” for those visiting the corridor. It was determined by the city leaders, stakeholders and steering committee members that this corridor should be perceived as a gateway opportunity into the city from Interstate 40.

The South Hartmann Gateway Planning Study vision statement says, “The goal of the Gateway Planning Study is to present possible land use and transportation patterns, development scenarios and implementation strategies that will create a plan for future growth, create a positive sense of place, connect to the surrounding community and its environmental and historical assets and increase economic vitality.”

The planning study’s key goals and objectives are further described in the sections below.

• Provide an economic overview of the study area to evaluate employment, population, market conditions, and establish recommendations for capturing market potentials and economic growth.
• Proposed land use patterns and development scenarios will integrate market conditions as a consideration
• for growth and development.
• Provide an economic overview of the study area to evaluate employment, population, market conditions, and establish recommendations for capturing market potentials and economic growth.

• Map a clear plan to capture character areas and shape specific land use patterns in the study area.
• Potential development scenarios along with precedent imagery will be established to help visualize how future growth and development might function and feel.

• Establish potential design parameters that suggest how buildings, streets and landscapes will be shaped as they develop.
• Address issues that affect the quality of life for residents and visitors of Lebanon while also preserving and enhancing cultural qualities found in the study area.

• Anticipate the impact of redevelopment, establish a clear plan for addressing environmental assets, pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, streetscape character, and connecting the surrounding community, and to make provisions to expand existing infrastructure to accommodate future growth in the study area.

• Next the city would like to expand to create a public services sewer extension project for South Hartmann Drive corridor between Interstate 40 and Old Murfreesboro Road. This would serve as a driver to further spur economic development.
• A public services sewer extension project will set the stage for business development growth and development along the rural corridor that has not been possible without a sewer. The sewer extension should serve as an economic driver and help increase the momentum for new businesses looking to locate along the corridor.
• Only time will tell whether the sewer line will lead to future development, or what caliber of economic development is spurred by the sewer lines. Fast food joints that typically cluster around interstate exits are a likely candidate, but those aren’t the only establishments the sewer line could bring. According to our South Hartmann Gateway Planning Study, we have designated the area for commercial office space, retail development, tourism, hotel and a town center.
• The city of Lebanon with the South Hartmann Gateway Planning Study has done an inventory of tracts along the South Hartmann corridor with willing sellers, in hopes of finding a match for future businesses that express interest in locating here. In addition to easy interstate access, the corridor has flat terrain, relatively speaking. The Department of Economic Development has prospects seeking that area of town and their first question is access to sewer along the corridor. Currently there is a nice sit-down restaurant that is interested in South Hartmann Drive, along with multiple retail and commercial prospects looking at the area. At this time, it is the recommendation of the Department of Economic Development to look at a public services sewer extension project for South Hartmann Drive corridor between Interstate 40 and Old Murfreesboro Road.

For more information, read the full South Hartmann Gateway Planning Study.