| Gateway far exceeds origin |
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Murfreesboro City Manager Roger Haley saw a unique opportunity in 1998 to pull together various pieces of public and private land to form a large overall master plan that would address a number of public issues and provide for special private development.
Haley's proposal saw the city purchase 400 acres roughly between Thompson Lane and Manson Pike to pursue a project that would include a long-need conference center, expansion of Old Fort golf course and other goals.
That master plan failed however in the arena of public debate for any number of reasons, but certainly includes its complexity.
The city then backed up and re-assessed its course of action. The result is what we now call the Gateway Center that almost daily brings new and exiting developments to our city.
Last week Middle Tennessee Medical Center broke ground on a physicians building which will be part of a campus including in a couple of years a new, state-of-the-art hospital.
A conference center is under development.
Consumers Insurance moved its headquarters to the Gateway and since opening there has increased employment 20 percent.
And, a huge, diverse mix of health, business and retail projects is in all stages of development.
One, The Avenue of Murfreesboro, a $140 million, 805,000-square-foot lifestyle mall, will open in August on a piece of property adjoining the city's initial development.
In the meantime, the city's $11.5 million development had brought in $35 million with the city essentially getting double its costs for each acres of land it sells.
On an ongoing basis, the income base being developed is phenomenal. The Avenue mall alone is expected to generate $4.7 million in taxes for the city and another $4.2 million for Rutherford County in just its first year.
The Gateway Center will firmly establish Murfreesboro as a regional destination for shopping, dining, entertainment and medical services.
Haley's initial idea back in 1998 didn't turn out exactly as he envisioned. It's become so much more.
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