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Cookeville developers halted plans last week for a townhouse development at the corner of Neal Street and Maple Avenue.
City Administrator James Mills said the developer asked the city to remove the proposal from consideration.
“There’s some adjustments to the site development that need to be made and there were concerns about access off of Maple,” Mills said. “It’s my understanding that he’s basically going back to the drawing board and will try to revise what he originally submitted.”
Mills said the proposal from Jerry C. Gaw indicated plans for building at least 40 townhouses on the 5-acre property.
“The developers indicated that these would be townhomes, but would be detached with courtyards between them,” Mills said. “It’s supposed to be an upscale townhouse development, similar to Sugartree.”
Gaw moved forward with demolishing an old home on the property last week. Despite some public backlash over the demolition, Mills said it was well within Gaw’s rights to remove the structure.
“We’ve heard comments about it being an historic structure, and it may have been, but it was not in an historic district,” Mills said. “There were no restrictions placed on it by the original owner. However the public feels about it, he was within his rights to remove the structure.”
The Cookeville Planning Commission pulled the proposal from last week’s agenda. Mills said it’s his understanding that the developers will be proceeding with the development.
