UCHRA Exploring Sites To Possibly Relocate And Build New Office

The Cookeville UCHRA Office at Jefferson Avenue could be relocated in the next few years.

The UCHRA Executive Committee approved Executive Director Mark Farley to explore properties suitable for a new building Wednesday. Farley said he wanted to start the process since the current building lease ends in five years.

“You got to start planning now,” Farley said. “The real estate market is unbelievable as you see different things being located all over Cookeville and Putnam County. We want to start looking to see if there is a site out there that is available and determine if we need to put that under option or go ahead and purchase it.”

Farley said an ideal situation would to relocate within a half-mile radius of the UCDD facility. Farley said the potential growth of Putnam County causes the need to move to better serve the county as a whole.

“With the changes coming down the road with our transportation program, especially if Putnam County becomes a small urban footprint, it means we’ve got to get closer outside of the downtown Cookeville area,” Farley said. “So we need to start moving some way or another towards the outside of the city limits.”

Farley said the current UCDD office took about four years to construct. Farley said the agency anticipates a similar timeline for a UCHRA building.

“There’s actually a site or two that we’ve already identified we thought would be perfect, and they’ve already been bought up and going to be developed,” Farley said. “So, we feel like we need to start looking now to try and find our next home.”

Farley said there is a real possibility that a site is not found and relocation does not occur.