New Parking Coming To North Cedar, Wheaton Said Will Help Downtown Area

The City of Cookeville is starting the process of building a new parking lot on North Cedar Avenue as demolition has been completed on old buildings.

Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton said that she hopes the new parking lot will improve citizen convenience around downtown and CRMC area. She said that parking has been an issue in the area largely due to the growth that Cookeville has been steadily experiencing.

“This is just another opportunity that we saw to be able to provide parking,” Wheaton said. “To make it more accessible for all the great restaurants and shops and local attractions that are in that area, and help out with the need that the city’s had with needing more parking.”

Wheaton said that she has been developing plans to turn the area into a parking lot since the city acquired the land in 2022. Wheaton said that she has also been talking to Cookeville Regional Medical Center about cost-sharing the project and opening the lot to their employees.

“I get to sit on the board for both Cookeville Regional and City Council so I got to have both of those discussions and bring the perspective from each group to the other body,” Wheaton said. “And both of us, the council and the board, agreed that this would be a great opportunity.”

Wheaton said that the city and medical center are still designing the layout of the lot, though demolition has been completed. She said that the rubble from the demolition will hopefully be cleared sometime by the end of next week.

Wheaton said that currently construction is set to begin in the fall, though this may change as the project continues. Wheaton said that the parking lot will hopefully be completed by the end of fall, barring extenuating circumstances such as supply or labor issues.