A proposed mixed-use development on GreenLea Boulevard with 266 apartments, a hotel, restaurants, retail and office space has received initial approval from Gallatin city leaders.
The Gallatin City Council voted 5-0 on first reading last week in favor of a preliminary master development plan and rezoning request for Chandler Marketplace. A final vote is expected to take place in January.
If approved, the development would be built on 42.5 acres located at the corner of GreenLea Boulevard and Harris Lane near State Route 386, according to plans submitted to the city’s planning department.
As part of their decision, council members also voted not to allow certificates of occupancy to be issued for the final half of the planned 25 apartment buildings until the 128-room hotel is completed.
“They ought to be able to start them simultaneously,” District 3 Councilman Jimmy Overton said about construction of the residential and commercial portions of the development. “I understand what we’re trying to accomplish, and I agree 100 percent with you. We need to be sure the retail gets put there, but I don’t think you should tie the developer’s hands… and say they can’t start any residential until you get this hotel completed.”
In addition to the new apartments, plans for Chandler Marketplace include six retail buildings, three restaurants and two office buildings totaling a combined 118,900 square feet of space. There would also be a convenience store with gas pumps on Harris Lane.
Developers have agreed not allow automotive parking, servicing, repair and cleaning along with limited warehousing, retail business supply, wholesale sales or vehicular craft and related equipment sales as uses in the development. A proposed restriction that would prohibit restaurants from having a drive-thru was deferred for additional discussion.
“This plan has always shown restaurant outparcels and to say you can’t have takeout or a drive-in window would significantly impact the type of customer and type of folks that they are able to market those outparcels to,” attorney and the developer’s representative Marty Cook said Nov. 16. “As Covid has shown us, almost every restaurant allows takeout now.”
The development would have one main entrance onto Harris Lane as well as a right-in, right-out limited access onto GreenLea Boulevard, according to plans for the project.
A public hearing for Chandler Marketplace is scheduled to be held during the Gallatin City Council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m., according to officials with the city’s planning department. A final vote will likely take place on Jan. 4.
If approved, developers anticipate construction could start in January and would take an estimated five years to complete.
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