Concerned community members gathered Thursday night to hear H.G. Hill Realty reveal the updated plans for the Hill Center Brentwood area set for development on the corner of Maryland Way and Franklin Road.
In the midst of rampant dislike for the development plans following public “listening sessions” held in April by H.G. Hill, concerns for the new development were found to be centered around traffic flow and distaste for apartment-style housing within the city. The new plans included four new traffic lights to be installed as well as getting rid of an access to the service area behind the existing shopping center off Franklin road, which will be a neighbor to the Hill Center Brentwood development.
The updated plans also included new considerations for easier traffic flow with entrances and exits on both Maryland Way and Franklin road, and the scrapping of any residential housing spaces in the new development, which is set for full completion within the next six to ten years. Stormwater concerns were heard and H.G. Hill will consult the governmental agencies about the best practices for handling the stormwater flow from the development, according to this meeting.
Right now, the space is covered by the Tennessee Baptist Convention Center and some parking. H.G. Hill Realty plans to develop the space into a mix of shopping, restaurants and office space including green space and parking garages, similar to the H.G. Hill development in Green Hills. Also, they plan to develop an “iconic corner” for the city of Brentwood on the corner of Maryland Way and Franklin road with the architecture of the building being built there.
Included in the plans will be open space green areas, a number of trees and big sidewalks conducive to outdoor seating in the interest of providing a “creation of place” for the office workers and shoppers with outdoor wifi connections and available hang-out spots.
“We think the creation of place will be very, very cool for the quality of life not only for our tenants but for the other citizens of Brentwood,” said Jimmy Granberry, representative for H.G. Hill Realty.
Following the meeting, H.G. Hill had tables set up with maps of the new development to allow written comments from the community members in attendance.
Although some members of the attending crowd were still in blatant opposition to the new development for reasons mainly based on traffic and preservation concerns, a few attendees expressed gratitude for the changes and were overall at peace about the Hill Center Brentwood development.
