Eagle Point Developers Working On Stormwater Issues

Cookeville City Officials have been working with the Shoppes At Eagle Point developers on stormwater issues at the site.

Heavy rains in February caused large water ponds to form around the project, especially along Interstate Drive. Cookeville Public Works Director Greg Brown said the developer, CHM Developers and Browning Development, has implemented many of the plans designed to deal with the rain and drainage.

“I think we’re well on our way to getting a handle on it,” Brown said. “They’ve been very cooperative. Everybody is happy with what’s going on.”

Though Brown said some overruns into storm sewers could have occurred during the heaviest of the rains, the developer never faced the prospect the site being shut down. The developer did not receive a notification of violations, Brown said.

“It’s just been a challenge for them to keep control of it,” Brown said. “We’ve just been working with them to try to keep ahead of it because the site’s saturated.”

As much as 12-14 inches of rain fell across the Upper Cumberland during February. As critical as the amount of rain, Brown said the storm systems came in succession. This did not allow the site to dry or for sediment ponds throughout the site to drain.

The developer, the city, and state officials have met jointly on several occasions to share ideas and work through the issues created by the rain. Brown said on a construction site of this size, it’s rare that you do not have some type of drainage problem during the project.

“You just have to adapt to the situation,” Brown said. “If what you’re doing’s not working, you have to change and do something else.”

Developers broke ground on the 270,000 square foot project in late 2017 with a projected opening set for this fall. The project will include anchors Publix and Academy Sports + Outdoors as well as several other retailers.