Framework In Place for New UCDD Central Office

Construction crews have installed framework for the new Upper Cumberland Development District’s (UCDD) new office building.

Executive Director Mark Farley says the project is on schedule with  the agency expected to move in by August.

“Contractors tell us we’re in really good shape,” Farley says. “Hopefully we’ll have it all dried in by the end of the month or the first of January. Hopefully that will speed the completion of the project once they’re out of the weather.”

Farley says the nearly $3.6 million project will be a step up from their current facility on South Willow Avenue in Cookeville.

“The lot that we have is relatively small. We don’t have enough parking currently for all of the staff and certainly anytime we have guests or meetings at our location, it’s hard to get parking for everybody there. We’ve pretty well maxed out our size. This new building we’re going to be moving into will have about 20,000 square feet, so we’ll have about 5,000 square feet to grow in.”

Farley says the new office building will likely lead to the agency hosting its shared-management executive board meetings with the Upper Cumberland Human Resources Agency (UCHRA). Those joint meetings are currently held at the UCHRA’s main office in Cookeville.

“That was our intention the whole way, as far as the Development District initially,” Farley says. “Now with both agencies, we will have meeting space that is more than enough square footage to have our board meetings and whatever events we need to host. We’ll have that internally in our new building.”

The new office building will be located along England Drive near the intersection of Highway 111 and I-40 in Cookeville. Crews officially broke ground on the project back in July.