Big news for Cookeville residents as the city gears up to transform the Westside Commercial District. The City Council has given its stamp of approval to hunker down with a design team charged with crafting a Master Plan. This initiative will give the historic Train Depot and the recently acquired Wilson and Shanks Hotel property a well-deserved facelift, as reported on Cookeville's official website.
It was a competition between four consulting firms, but the winning bid was a collaboration between a local outfit and a Chattanooga firm. ASA Engineering & Consulting, Inc. and Tinker Ma are set to spearhead the project, bringing together a hometown perspective with fresh, outside expertise. Cookeville's Mayor Laurin Wheaton was quick to note that the ideation offered by this team was comprehensive yet sensitive to the city's historical roots and looks to provide economic and tourist impact.
The Westside project sprawls across ten acres and aims to highlight the Depot at its heart, surrounded by an event plaza, open greenery, and pathways for pedestrians under a canopy of trees. An innovative touch includes a convenience structure, offering necessary amenities while upholding the integrity of the local heritage. According to the City of Cookeville, Mayor Wheaton shared a vision for "a multi-use park around the Depot, traffic solutions, and parking concepts" and emphasized that the design will be guided by "public input of local merchants and citizens."
Phase one is marked by the creation of a significant parking area, along with a temporary green space where future development is being contemplated. Additionally, the parking zone is designed to easily shift gears and evolve into a parking garage as demand increases. Alongside these first steps, the design team will also review the potential of soon-vacant properties on Oak Street and concepts to smoothly link different parts of the city, from cultural hubs to medical campuses—as Cookeville's leadership has been eager to fix the notorious malfunction junction at Cedar and Broad.
The project has been thrust into the fast lane, with initial surveys and environmental assessments already in motion. The public can expect to have their say through a series of methods, including questionnaires and town hall presentations, where preliminary plans sculpted by community feedback will be revealed. According to the City of Cookeville's announcement, the objective is to break ground on the parking lot early in 2026 and to commence road improvements before the next fall rolls around.
